Azerbaijan’s video game ecosystem has gained significant momentum in recent years, rapidly transforming from an emerging scene into an active regional development hub. Driven by public-private partnerships, targeted incubation programs, and a rising generation of tech-savvy talent, the country saw its active game studio count more than double between 2024 and 2025. In this interview, Rytis Joseph Jan discusses how strategic investments, grassroots talent initiatives, and global market exposure are helping build Azerbaijan’s games industry from the ground up.
- Why did Xsolla decide to invest time and resources into helping build a gaming ecosystem in Azerbaijan? What potential did you see that others may have overlooked?
We saw Azerbaijan as an emerging market with many of the ingredients to become a meaningful regional video game hub, but one where the ecosystem was still early enough that focused investment could make a real difference. The numbers reinforced that view: in 2024, the number of video game studios in Azerbaijan grew 40% to 24, showing strong momentum from a relatively small base. In 2025, the number of studios increased from 24 to 60. At the same time, Azerbaijan’s young, tech-savvy population, growing government support for digital innovation, and strategic position between Europe and Asia created an attractive foundation for international growth.
What others may have overlooked was not simply the size of the domestic market, but the untapped talent and regional potential. Our goal was to help turn that potential into globally competitive companies by connecting local developers with expertise, capital, technology, and international distribution. In 2025, Xsolla’s incubation program supported 10 Azerbaijani studios, bringing in 40+ international experts, while three studios received $30,000- $60,000 each in financial support. We have since expanded the commitment into a five-year initiative focused on R&D, talent development, prototypes, and commercialization. For us, Azerbaijan represents an opportunity to build the infrastructure before the market reaches maturity and, in doing so, help create the next generation of studios and video game talent for the global market.
- Xsolla is widely known as a fintech company in the gaming industry. How does ecosystem development fit into Xsolla’s long-term vision? When building a games ecosystem almost from scratch, what comes first: talent, studios, investment, education, or government support?
For Xsolla, ecosystem development is a natural extension of what we already do. We are a global video game commerce company, but our purpose goes beyond accepting transactions: we help developers launch, grow, monetize, and ultimately build sustainable businesses. If there are not enough strong developers, studios, or commercially viable games, commerce infrastructure alone cannot unlock a market. That is why we increasingly think about the entire developer journey, from education and talent development to incubation, funding, production, publishing, and global commercialization. Our Azerbaijan strategy reflects that long-term view: our current collaboration with IDDA is structured as a five-year initiative, covering R&D, workforce development, prototypes, education, and commercialization.
If I had to choose one starting point, it would be talent, yet talent connected to education and real industry experience. You need people before you can build great studios; you need studios before investment can generate meaningful returns. Government support is the multiplier that can help all of those pieces scale. Recognizing this, Xsolla is building a pipeline of emerging young talent for the video game industry. The strongest ecosystem creates a pipeline: educate talent, form studios, provide capital and mentorship, connect them to global markets, with government and industry partners creating the conditions for that pipeline to keep replenishing itself.
- How important is collaboration between governments and private companies when developing a sustainable games industry?
Collaboration between governments and private companies is essential when building a sustainable ecosystem within the video game industry, particularly in an emerging market. Neither side can build the ecosystem alone. Governments can create the right conditions through policy, infrastructure, education, incentives, and long-term strategic support, while private companies bring industry expertise, technology, international networks, investment, and a direct understanding of what the global market demands. The most effective model is therefore a partnership where each side contributes what it does best. Xsolla’s work with Azerbaijan’s Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDDA) is a good example: Xsolla brings global video game and commerce expertise, while IDDA helps create the local framework and connections needed for programs to succeed.
- What have been the biggest milestones achieved in Azerbaijan over the past year?
First, the ecosystem itself gained momentum: the number of video game studios in Azerbaijan increased from 24 to 60 in 2025, with estimates for 2026 being between 60 and 70. So far in 2026, 35 new game MVPs have already been created through programs organized by Xsolla. Second, our partnership with IDDA moved into a much more practical phase. In 2025, we launched Azerbaijan’s first international video game studio incubation program, bringing 10 local studios into a three-month program with 40+ international experts, global publisher connections, and a significant prize pool. That is important because it creates a bridge between local creativity and the commercial realities of the global video game industry.
The third milestone is the talent pipeline. Xsolla is building a pipeline of emerging young talent for the video game industry in Azerbaijan, encouraging individual developers and early-stage teams to go global. Finally, international exposure has become much more deliberate. This year, we committed to supporting 24 Azerbaijani developers at major international gaming conferences: Azerbaijani studios have already been represented at GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco and Digital Dragons in Krakow. Alongside that, our new multi-year collaboration with IDDA creates a five-year framework around R&D, talent and commercialization. Together, these milestones show an ecosystem beginning to connect talent, companies and global markets.
- What does “international exposure” mean in practice for a Baku studio?
International exposure has to mean much more than putting a studio’s name on a conference banner. For a Baku studio, it means getting into the rooms where the global video game business actually happens: meeting publishers, investors, platform companies, and experienced developers; testing a pitch against international expectations and learning how studios in more mature markets approach production, marketing, and monetization. That’s why Xsolla focuses on creating commercial connections, not just visibility. For example, at Digital Dragons 2026 and Pocket Gamer Connects Shanghai. At Digital Dragons 2026, five Azerbaijani studios were selected to showcase their games, with dedicated pitch mentoring, conference preparation, and access to the event’s networking and meeting systems. At Pocket Gamer Connects Shanghai, with the support of Xsolla and IDDA, 12 game developers representing seven studios from Azerbaijan attended the event. Five of the seven studios were winners of the Game Bootcamp organized by Xsolla on the Odlar Yurdu University campus. During Pocket Gamer Connects Shanghai, the Azerbaijani developers held dozens of meetings with industry experts and publishers, establishing valuable connections and receiving practical advice to support their growth.
The practical outcome is that a studio can come back to Baku with something it couldn’t easily build on its own: a publisher conversation, investor introduction, potential partner, market insight, or simply a much clearer understanding of what needs to change before taking a video game global. We are deliberately building that exposure into a broader pipeline. For us, international exposure is successful when it changes a studio’s trajectory, not simply when it increases its visibility.
- What does success look like in five years?
Five years from now, success should be measured by what continues to happen without us having to create every opportunity ourselves. We’d like to see Azerbaijan recognized internationally as a credible video game development hub, with studios producing original IP, attracting investment and reaching players in global markets. The goal isn’t to create a large number of companies for its own sake; it’s to create companies who can create, grow and compete. This means helping to create a deeper talent pool, experienced studio leadership, stronger production capabilities and a steady pipeline of commercially viable games. Our five-year collaboration is already structured around those building blocks: R&D, workforce development, prototypes and MVPs, education, IP creation and commercialization.
We’d also measure success by the positive connections and economic outcomes. Developers in Azerbaijan should be routinely meeting international publishers, investors, and partners rather than needing a special program to access them. We should see more video games originating in Baku reaching global distribution, more international companies working with Azerbaijani talent, and a stronger flow of private investment into the ecosystem. There are encouraging signs already: Azerbaijan now has more than 60 game studios, and industry revenues are projected to exceed $200 million. Our recent partnership with Starnest and SABAH.HUB also expands the ecosystem beyond video games, connecting it with investment, universities, and a broader innovation network. Ultimately, success is when Azerbaijan is no longer seen as an emerging market that needs to be developed but as a place where global video game companies actively look for talent, ideas, and opportunities.
- What would you tell another emerging market trying to do the same thing?
My advice would be to start with people and encourage development by creating the market they ultimately need to compete in. It’s easy to focus on the number of studios created, hackathons held, or training programs completed, yet those are inputs, not outcomes. From the beginning, developers need exposure to international standards, experienced mentors, publishers, investors, and real commercial feedback. Give talented people a reason to stay, build and take risks locally, while making it possible for them to reach global audiences and be patient: a sustainable video games industry is not built in one funding cycle. It takes years to develop experienced teams, successful IP, and the network around them.
