Adrien Bacchi is a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in the entertainment and technology industries. As the Co-Founder and CEO of ChibiPhoenix, an independent gaming studio based in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bacchi has played a pivotal role in growing the company from a small team to a thriving organization.
ChibiPhoenix has been involved in almost every aspect of the industry, from game development to publishing, live operations, and interactive media production. The studio’s diverse expertise enables it to create engaging experiences while supporting projects across multiple platforms.
Can you tell us about the story behind the blue beard?
Ahah, the infamous blue beard! It’s my answer to one of the biggest challenges in networking—being recognizable and memorable in an industry where you meet hundreds of people in a matter of days.
At first, it was just an experiment. I’ve gone through blonde, red, green, purple—each one had its own phase, its own reactions (green in Thailand, by the way, led to the weirdest interactions ever). But after years of split testing my own personal brand, I realized blue was my natural color. It fits. It clicks. It’s me.
But beyond the aesthetic, there’s a lesson in personal branding & marketing here to 1) Test. Iterate. Get feedback. Adapt; and 2) Find what resonates with others, but also with you.
So, why the blue beard?
- Because I want you to remember me.
- Because it’s the result of years of branding experiments.
- Because it works, your question is the proof 🙂
- Because it feels like ME
- Because it’s FUN 🙂
ChibiPhoenix celebrates 19 years of business this year. As a company that went through many pivots, what were the most challenging times for you, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge, the real challenge, has always been ourselves.
It’s not just about the market, funding, or competition—it’s about how well we can match our vision with our mental fortitude, discipline, and raw talent. Every entrepreneur has big ideas. That’s easy.
The real struggle is making those ideas work without burning out in the lows or losing perspective in the highs.
We’ve had highs that felt invincible:
- SupernovaMail was a performance emailing for affiliation platforms, bootstrapped in 2006 from zero to $2M with just three people—a technical and business feat that should have been our first big exit.
- Trixir, where we took cybersecurity serious games to a new level, leading to a successful sale to OnePoint Group in 2019.
- ChibiPhoenix, proving that bootstrapping at scale is possible, going from nothing to $100M+ in sales, all while staying independent.
But we’ve also had lows that tested everything:
- RankingHero, where we built an amazing poker community but couldn’t crack the right
business model.
- Not selling SupernovaMail at its peak, missing the golden exit moment because we believed it was an automatic cash machine and we could work on Amilova while Supernovamail was on autopilot. Wrong :). We lost momentum and it slowly faded.
- Pausing Amilova, despite its transmedia potential, because we were too early and too focused on comics when the real revenue model was in gaming.
And that’s the lesson: every high can blind you, and every low can crush you if you let it.
In the lows, you have to be strong enough not to spiral into despair, to push through and find the next opportunity instead of giving up.
In the highs, you have to be smart enough not to believe your own hype, to stay pragmatic and execute with discipline.
We survived because we adapted. We didn’t cling to failures, and we didn’t let successes make us complacent. We learned, evolved, pivoted, and—most importantly—kept going.
Looking back, everything is coherent.
What we are doing now with ChibiPhoenix and our transcended platform AMILOVA.COM is the ultimate evolution of everything we’ve built since 2010. We’ve proven the business model with games, and now we’re bringing it full circle—where games drive revenue, and comics and creators fuel engagement and community.
The next challenges will come. But after surviving the lows and navigating the highs, we’re stronger than ever—and ready for what’s next.
Looking back, what are the biggest achievements at ChibiPhoenix that you are most proud of?
The biggest achievement? Resilience. Bootstrapped Growth. Transcendence.
Over the years, we’ve taken bold risks, scaled from nothing to $100M+, survived massive challenges, and built something truly unique. But more than any single success, I’m most proud of how everything we’ve done—every pivot, every failure, every breakthrough—has led to today.
Our biggest wins:
- Bootstrapping ChibiPhoenix from scratch to massive profitability. We scaled to $100M+ in sales, 15% ARR, and 30% projected growth—all without external funding. Starting from debts and bankruptcy, what a journey 🙂
- Trixir: Innovating in serious gaming and selling it to OnePoint Group. We built cutting-edge cybersecurity serious games, proving that gamification wasn’t just entertainment—it could be powerful for training and education.
- Building a creator-driven ecosystem before it was a trend. Amilova (2010) was one of the first true transmedia platforms, merging webcomics, games, and community storytelling long before UGC was mainstream. Last summer Webtoon.com (Naver) did their IPO at a massive 2.7B valuation… big respect 🙂 it proves that 15 years ago, our vision was right!
What projects are you currently working on at the studio, and are there any exciting developments you can share?
Right now, our biggest project is AMILOVA.COM—our next-gen platform merging gaming and digital comics into one creator-powered ecosystem. It’s the evolution of everything we’ve built over the years.
Imagine Steam for interactive stories meets Webtoon for gaming audiences—a place where creators, artists, and developers can collaborate, publish, and monetize their work across multiple formats. Games drive revenue, comics fuel engagement, and the creator economy powers it all.
Why is this so exciting?
- We’re bringing back the transmedia dream of Amilova (2010), but with 15 years of experience in gaming.
- It’s a creator-first platform—designed for artists, storytellers, and indie devs who want to build IPs across multiple media.
- It’s a proven business model. We’ve already seen how gaming fuels sustainable revenue, and now we’re integrating it into a broader ecosystem.
Beyond AMILOVA.COM, we’re also:
- Consolidating our tech framework & capacities so we can scale our platform with strength and resilience, and progressively expand cross-platforms: web, mobile, and later PC.
- Developing new freemium browser and mobile games that integrate into our transmedia universe.
- Expanding our partnerships—bringing major publishers, indie studios, and webtoon creators onto the platform.
- Experimenting with UGC-powered gaming and AI-enhanced content tools. (But let’s be clear—we’re not riding the AI hype. We integrate tech when it’s useful, not because it’s trendy.)
What’s next?
2025 is a huge year for us. We’re scaling AMILOVA.COM, growing our game portfolio, and preparing for our next big leap—bringing investors and partners into the journey as we build the future of transmedia entertainment.
It’s a major step! We’ve built our system and identity around our independence. Deciding to partner with investors is a big move. But we spent the past 5 years thinking about it and building our studio for that. We know that we can’t achieve our big vision all by ourselves, we need strong partners. “If you want to go fast you go alone, if you want to go far bring in solid partners” 🙂
The goal?
Not just making games. Not just publishing comics. But creating the ultimate platform where games, stories, and creators fuel each other in ways the industry has never seen before.
It’s been 19 years in the making, and now it’s happening.
With the growing success of gaming franchises in transmedia (e.g., The Last of Us, Fallout, Sonic), how do you see this trend evolving in 2025? Does ChibiPhoenix have plans to explore different mediums beyond gaming?
Transmedia isn’t a trend—it’s a necessity for the industry. And an evidence for our audiences.
The era where a game could succeed just by being a good game is over. User acquisition costs are skyrocketing, competition is brutal, and the sheer volume of games being released every day makes discoverability a nightmare. If an IP wants to make a lasting impact, it needs to go beyond the game—it needs to create a full 360-degree experience.
True transmedia isn’t just “let’s slap a TV series on our game.” It’s about creating a world so rich, so immersive, that players don’t just consume the content—they live in it. The most successful IPs today are the ones that extend beyond the game into:
- Multiverse storytelling—expanding the lore across games, comics, webtoons, and animated content.
- Fan-driven expansion—fan fiction, fan art, deep social media discussions that make players feel ownership over the universe.
- Physical goods & collectibles—merch, books, art prints, statues, even in-world items players can own.
- Community engagement—forums, social spaces, and co-creation platforms that turn players into evangelists.
This isn’t new. Hollywood has done it for decades. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Harry Potter—they weren’t built on a single movie or book. They created massive, interconnected experiences that turned audiences into lifelong fans.
The difference? Now, even small agile teams can do it.
Thanks to digital distribution, AI-enhanced content creation, and global platforms like Webtoon, building a transmedia franchise is no longer exclusive to billion-dollar studios. The tools exist, the market is ready, and the demand for deep, interconnected universes has never been higher.
At ChibiPhoenix, we don’t just see transmedia as an opportunity—we see it as the future. That’s why AMILOVA.COM is built from the ground up to be a creator-powered transmedia platform. We’re integrating games, comics, and interactive storytelling in a way that allows IPs to expand seamlessly.
Gaming alone isn’t enough anymore. The IPs that will dominate the next decade are the ones that create full-spectrum experiences, drawing players into a world they don’t just play in, but belong to.
That’s what we’re building. And that’s where the industry is going—whether it’s ready or not.
Image Credit: ChibiPhoenix
Where do you see the next major gaming IP emerging from—established studios or independent creators? What factors do you think will shape the success of new IPs?
The next gaming superstars won’t come from big studios. They’ll come from independent creators.
Just look at what happened in the past 20 years with social media. Who became the dominant voices in entertainment? Not Hollywood, but self-made creators like MrBeast, PewDiePie, Ninja, Charli D’Amelio, Logan Paul, and so many more. The biggest content brands today weren’t manufactured by old media—they were built from scratch by individuals, breaking the system, bypassing gatekeepers, and owning their audiences.
Gaming is next.
Right now, the industry is primed for the same kind of UGC (user-generated content) explosion.
- Big studios are risk-averse. They need to justify massive budgets, so they play it safe with sequels, remakes, and familiar IPs.
- Creativity overwhelmingly comes from indies. Just look at the biggest innovations in the past decade—Minecraft, Among Us, Undertale, Hades, Stardew Valley. These weren’t born in AAA boardrooms.
- Players want 360-degree transmedia experiences. They don’t just want a game; they want a world they can live in—through comics, webtoons, social media content, fanfics, animations, physical collectibles.
And here’s where it gets interesting:
For the first time in history, small, agile teams have access to powerful tools that let them create massive transmedia experiences.
- Game engines like Unity and Unreal are more accessible than ever.
- AI-powered tools help with writing, localization, and even animation.
- Publishing platforms like Webtoon, Itch.io, and Kickstarter allow creators to fund and distribute their work directly.
We are about to see independent UGC-powered universes rise from nowhere, just like YouTubers did against traditional media. A small team of smart, agile creators will outmaneuver big studios by embracing transmedia from day one—games, comics, animations, social media storytelling, 3D worlds, and more.
This is why AMILOVA.COM is built to support this shift. We’re not just making a platform for games—we’re creating a home for transmedia IPs, built by creators, driven by community, and free from old-school gatekeeping.
The next billion-dollar IP won’t be a sequel. It won’t be from a billion-dollar studio. It will be built by a creator (or a small indie team) that understands how to make a fully immersive world—not just a game.
That’s the future. And it’s happening now.
You’re very active in the gaming event scene. From your perspective, what makes a great gaming event? Also, should we expect to see you at the Mobidictum Conference 2025? 🙂
Yes, I’m strongly considering Mobidictum 2025. It’s one of the rare events I missed in 2024, and the feedback was crystal clear: “Wooo you missed it! It was a top-tier, high-quality event, a must-attend!”. I don’t like missing out on good things, so Mobidictum 2025 is absolutely on my radar.
But let’s be real—the real test of an event is… the karaoke parties. So, Mobidictum team, tell me—how good are your karaoke nights? Asking for a friend.
What makes a great gaming event?
A truly great gaming event is not just about showing up—it’s about how much value, energy, and real connections it creates. Over the years, I’ve attended (and survived) many conferences, and the best ones share a few key ingredients:
Expert Speakers Who Deliver More Than the Basics
Nothing kills an event like recycled corporate slides. The best conferences feature insightful,
thought-provoking, and unique perspectives—talks that go beyond the usual fluff and actually
challenge your thinking.
Networking That Actually Works
It’s not just about trading business cards. Great networking happens when an event creates an environment where people can connect in a meaningful way—where you meet not just “contacts” but potential future partners, collaborators, or even friends.
Dynamic, Engaging Sessions
Panels, workshops, and fireside chats work best when they’re interactive, bold, and focused on deep insights, not just surface-level industry trends. A bonus? If attendees could get homework or prep materials beforehand, it would help elevate discussions.
A Venue That Enhances the Experience
Some venues just make everything better—whether it’s because of the layout, the atmosphere, or even just the convenience. The best events understand that where you gather matters almost as much as what happens inside.
A Strong Focus on Future Trends
A great event isn’t just a snapshot of the industry now—it should push the conversation forward. We don’t need another panel explaining why mobile gaming is big. We need debates on what’s coming next, what nobody is seeing yet, and what will change the industry in the next five years.
And, of course… the Late-Night Conversations (With or Without Karaoke). The best discussions don’t always happen during official panels. They happen on cozy sofas talking about our families and showing our kids pics, or drinking cocktails on a rooftop with a volcano view. Great events know that magic happens after the main schedule ends.
How do you envision the future of the gaming industry in the next five years? What major trends or challenges do you foresee?
Churchill famously said “I’m an optimist because there’s no point being anything else.” And that’s exactly how I feel about the gaming industry. Yes, in the short term, things are rough. We’re still recovering from the crazy ride of the COVID years, where the industry boomed unnaturally fast, leading to overexpansion, unrealistic expectations, and now, painful corrections.
At the same time, we’re deeply shaken by the AI revolution.
- It’s changing how we work.
- It’s morphing most jobs.
- It’s destroying some jobs while creating entirely new ones.
And the gaming industry? We have no choice but to adapt—fast. That’s why we’re in this turbulent period of uncertainty, layoffs, new hiring, new studios emerging, old studios struggling. This is the recalibration phase before the next leap forward.
Now, let’s talk about where I believe we’re heading. We say, “When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Well, I look at the industry, and I see the rise of the Creator Economy and Transmedia as the biggest force shaping the future. Forget VR, the metaverse hype, or NFTs none of those concepts have shown real mass-market stickiness. The real shift is already happening in plain sight.
From my perspective, the next 5 years will be defined by four factors.
- The rise of the Creator Economy in gaming: Just like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch created billionaire influencers who bypassed Hollywood, gaming is now seeing a revolution in user-generated content (UGC). Creators are learning to make, mod, expand, and monetize gaming experiences directly.
- Transmedia experiences will become the industry standard: Players no longer want a game—they want a full, 360-degree adventure that extends beyond the screen. The IPs that win in the next decade will be those that:
– Connect games to comics, animations, books, and physical collectibles.
– Encourage fan-driven content—fanfics, fan art, community-driven expansions.
– Make players feel like they belong to a living, breathing world—not just a one-and-done experience.
- Small, agile teams will outmaneuver big studios: AAA companies will keep making blockbusters, but the most exciting, innovative IPs will come from small, fast-moving teams who embrace UGC and transmedia from day one.
- AI will be an amplifier, not a replacement: AI won’t replace human creativity, but it will make small teams more powerful than ever. It will handle localization, speed up content creation, and allow indie studios to produce at a level once reserved for major publishers.
To summarise, gaming isn’t just evolving; it’s undergoing a fundamental shift. The industry will look very different in 2030, and those who adapt will thrive in ways we can’t even predict yet. I’m an optimist because there’s no point in being anything else. And if you’re building games, building worlds, and building player-driven experiences that go beyond the screen—you should be optimistic too.
Because the best is yet to come.
