Developers from Russia also know how to make cool games. 5 best projects from the world of Russian game development that you should wait for

The phrase in the title is by no means a conjuncture. Russian game development in recent years has really become larger and broader compared to what it was before. Domestic scientists continue to prove that they are capable of creating unique worlds, experimenting with mechanics and developing the local ecosystem; our market game development has reached $2.3 billion, according to ADV Game.

In this article we will talk about some announced projects from our developers, and believe me, they are not at all similar to those from the Western AAA industry.

Brutal horror shooter ILL

The trailer for this game became one of the most popular at Summer Game Fest 2025, with more than 2.7 million people watching it in total. For a studio that was based on four guys from Russia, this is a great success. Provided that only 50 people are working on ILL, and this is the team’s debut game.

The developers do not disclose that one of the main sources of inspiration was Resident Evil 7 (by the way, the voice of the main character was given by actor Nick Apostolides, known for Leon Kennedy’s videos in the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 4) and the goal of ILL is the article the most vile, brutal and cruel horror shooter industry.

Actually, where does the hype come from? The first thing they talk about and show in the trailers is the thickest atmosphere of body horror with the most detailed system of dismemberment. ILL is not a typical simulator, here military actions are shot and thought about where and at whom, since there are few cartridges and it is far easier to deprive the enemy of a leg than to waste cartridges on his complete disintegration. The developers promise that the game will first and foremost be a deep horror game where you need to think a lot about survival.

And you can already see from the trailers that Team Clout is finally boldly paying attention to the design of monsters. The appearance and model of each image was originally taken from individual people through motion capture, and then tension was used to such a level as to create an “uncanny valley” effect – where the Thing simultaneously flares up strongly at the person, but has a number of repulsive elements. The trailer also shows baby opponentsbut when asked whether they removed them from the kids or not, the developers remained mysteriously silent.

Promising slasher “Princess”

Since its announcement, “The Princess” from Watt Studio has become one of the most anticipated projects in the Russian game development scene. The developers promise, first of all, a competent interweaving of Slavic mysticism, rich visuals and addictive action. the plot, which I write in such a way that it is understandable both here and in the West.

Of course, the source of inspiration is immediate – first of all, although it is not stated directly anywhere, “The Princess” is inspired by the Bayonetta series from the Japanese team Platinum Games, only, judging by the statements in press releases, our developers Let’s take a further approach to the combat system.

The fact is that “The Princess” is positioned as the world’s first ballet slasher film in Slavic folklore. All movements take place with the help of breathtaking movement with the participation of prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Alena Kovaleva.

Each battle promises to be not just a set of mutual and not so blows, more like an artistic productionwhere classical techniques are intertwined with pirouettes. In words it sounds very promising, but we’ll find out how it actually turns out in 2026. True, so far only on PC on Steam.

Ambitious action adventure “War of the Worlds: Siberia”

“War of the Worlds: Siberia” from 1C Game Studios at the moment (judging by the developer diaries) looks like, probably, the most ambitious project of our industry for now. The plot promises us a unique reading of the classic novel by Ger Wells (what is important is that the plot of the game takes place in the same universe as the original source), but the action is transferred to the territory of one Russian Empire.

And for greater authenticity, the characters are voiced by actors from the Moscow Drama Theater. M. N. Ermolova. In fact, these same actors are trying out exciting moves for the first time.

“War of the Worlds: Siberia” is developed based on the Unity engine. A deep study of gameplay and locations is planned. No open world – “War of the Worlds: Siberia” is the maximum classic linear adventure in the spirit of Uncharted, Gears of War and Order:1886.

The release so far thinks that it will only be on PC and not earlier than 2027, but, according to the team, they would also like to release it on consoles..

Inspired classic tactics Dead Weight

What would happen if you took the aesthetics of air pirates, references to Disney’s Treasure Planet and mixed it with Lovecraft’s chthonic sensibilities, but with a pinch of humor, and stuffed it all into the art style of classic JRPGs from the Super Nintendo era?

It will turn out to be dead weight from Klukva Games, a Russian team that has great respect for classic games. turn-based Japanese tactics like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem.

According to the plot, here we have a fight against an ancient chthonic evil that happened in a fantasy steampunk world. We are pregnant with the role of, if not a savior, then certainly an explorer of airspace. We upgrade the ship, look for new allies and fight a lot with long and thoughtful turn-based battles.

The developers promise to release the release this year, so far only on PC on Steam. But, as for me, this will work great on smartphones or Switch 2. Still, the experience of Nintendo and Fire Emblem has shown that Portable format – the best option for turn-based tactics.

Stylish RPG in the spirit of Diablo in the Slavic setting “Bylina”

But the demo version of this game can be downloaded right now, for example, on the Xbox Series. Search by name Epic and focus on the developers from Far Far Games. For them, by the way, this is a debut project.

At least the developers vehemently deny itbut from the gameplay you can see: Bylina is nothing more than Diablo, but in the setting of Slavic fantasy with all that it implies. Only the local gameplay is still faster and in some places more difficult than in games from Blizzard. Yes, and there is no such generation of locations or loot here either; calling enemies with one blow will also not work, for the sake of fairness.

Why do this? Well, in general, a rather interesting plot was introduced into the game in the spirit of classic humorous fantasy. The main character here is a certain Sokolik – the stupid son of a hero, without a hint of talent.

Moreover, the game begins with Sokolik somehow being transported to the Far Far Away Kingdom, where he almost immediately dies at the hands of Koshchei the Immortal. A certain mysterious spirit will bring the unlucky young man back to life, and hence the adventure, the complicated references of Kipelov’s work, memes about the copy from Balenciaga, and then there are the heroes very dubious personalitiesthat they speak in poetry and do not support anything bad in neuronal conversations with birches.

We know how to be surprised by diversity. If only it were all on the console

In fact, there are many more announced and even released projects. It’s very nice to see that, in spite of everything, our developers (even if sometimes they pretend to be Cypriots, but I think everyone understands, right?) show game development, if not at the level it’s certainly not worsethan, let’s say, the whole world.

It’s clear that now a lot is at the stage of diaries, announcements and a couple of trailers, but personally I have a desire. Believe me, sooner or later something will work out. And if there is a release on consoles, then I will even willingly support it with rubles. I wish the same for you.

I am voicing this thought to you. Have a good day!