How indie developers can launch on mobile stores on their own and get featured

What the talk is about

Ivan Kovalev shares his experience as an indie developer who took a mobile game to the stores on his own and earned many features and awards. He first asks whether you really need a publisher: for a paid game without heavy monetization, going solo is realistic, while free-to-play built on buying traffic is harder. The game must fit the platform and its players, and visual presentation and localization matter, especially for the key paying markets, including Chinese. Feature request forms should be filed at least 6–8 weeks ahead, the stated release date should not be changed, and build numbering needs care. He walks through the types of featuring, advises building contact with the platform teams through showcases and conferences, and preparing screenshots, trailers, rating prompts and support in advance. Useful for indie teams preparing a mobile store release.