Nekki Surpasses One Billion Game Installs, Announces New Project “Shades”
Nekki, the publishing brand behind the popular Shadow Fight franchise, has achieved a major milestone by surpassing one billion installations across its lineup of games. In addition to this achievement, the Cyprus-based company has also announced its latest project called “Shades”. The game, set to launch in late 2023, will take place in the same universe as “Shadow Fight”, continuing the narrative from “Shadow Fight 2” but before the events of “Shadow Fight 3”. “Shades” will introduce new narratives, beloved characters, and a roguelike twist, while also featuring a comic book storyline for a fresh storytelling experience.
A Continuing Legacy
Nekki has been establishing its presence in the mobile gaming industry for the past few decades, with a specific focus on action and strategy games. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the studio continues to build on the success of its flagship titles, “Shadow Fight” and “Vector”, with the former being a mobile fighting game and the latter a parkour runner.
Impressively, 95 percent of the one billion installations accrued by Nekki’s games are organic, a rare accomplishment for a collection of mid-core games. Among these installations, “Shadow Fight 2” accounts for 420 million and continues to grow by over 100,000 daily, while “Shadow Fight 3” has reached 210 million downloads. Additionally, “Shadow Fight 4: Arena” has surpassed 50 million installations and continues to rise in popularity.
The studio’s second-most popular series, Vector, has amassed over 330 million installations. The game recently received a major update after a decade, enhancing its visuals and graphics, introducing new modes, features, and quality-of-life improvements for players.
What’s Next?
Players can look forward to diving into Nekki’s next title, “Spine”, which will be available on PC and consoles. Dubbed the studio’s “cinematic gun-fu action game”, “Spine” boasts top-notch graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5. Additionally, Nekki has a web3 project in the works called “Fight.me” that incorporates evolving NFT collectibles.
Future Outlook and Beyond
According to Nekki founder Dmitry Terekhin, the studio has always aimed to create exceptional gameplay experiences by exploring new platforms, pushing the boundaries of game genres, and introducing unique gameplay innovations. This strategy has resulted in a powerful word-of-mouth effect and sustained organic growth for Nekki. The studio is also diligently perfecting Cascadeur, the software responsible for its realistic 3D character animation. With a commitment to innovation, Nekki plans to venture further into uncharted territory and surprise players with more exciting content in the years to come.