Russia's largest publisher, 1C (Space Rangers, IL-2 Sturmovik) claims over 100 PC titles under its belt, thriving in a market where consumer taste and high piracy combine to make PC the dominant platform in Russia.
Earlier this year, though, 1C announced it's begun a move into console development for the first time with Captain Blood, releasing on PC and Xbox 360. Its previously PC-only combat flight simulator IL-2: Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is also making a bold move, slated for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, and Nintendo DS.
Is this a sign that console penetration in the Russian regions is increasing, or is 1C attempting to pave the way? We talked to 1C sales director Nikolay Baryshnikov about the company's new moves, including initiatives to combat software piracy in Russia and opening its own retail store.
Zach Murphy writes: 'Pirate games used to be everywhere, Monkey Island, Sid Meier’s Pirates and Sea Dogs were hugely successful and even today they’ve had some success with Sea of Thieves and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The thing is, these games are not seen often. We are lucky if we see one pirate game a year nowadays.'.
There's a playthrough of the first mission from one of these copies on Twitch.
Would love to get my hands on the final version. Maybe one day.
Captain Blood is a pirate-themed action game that takes place on the Spanish Main of the 17th century. Players take the role of a noble pirate, following his fascinating adventures and chasing for gold and glory. This mission-based game brings players to unique battlefields on both land and sea with ship-to-ship battles and swashbuckling sword fights.
GameRevolution writes: "Let's fly our flags plain and true: Publisher 1C's forthcoming Captain Blood isn't some mega-hyped, triple-A, boundary-pushing video game on the bleeding edge (well, not that way, at any rate...). In fact, in terms of its presentational wow-factor, it's definitely closer to a hearty, scrappy sloop than an august, burly ship-of-the-line. Nevertheless, it's become weirdly close to our hearts (and livers) over the past couple of years, largely thanks to three key distinctions".
