Market Analysis April 27 Russian mobile games market decreased by 84% in wake of global sanctions Global sanctions have already started affecting different business areas in Russia, including the mobile games market. Here is how revenues of the highest-grossing mobile titles, as well as the whole market volume, decreased following the latest suspensions.
Industry News April 21 Valve resumes payments to Russian and Ukrainian devs following suspension Valve has come up with a solution to resume payments to Steam developers based in Ukraine and Russia following the suspension last month.
Deals April 19 EG7 to sell its Russian subsidiary Innova for €32 million, one year after acquiring it for €110 million EG7 has announced its intent to sell its subsidiary Innova, known for localizing and publishing MMO games in Russia. The Swedish holding company set the purchase price at €32 million.
Industry News April 15 GitHub starts blocking accounts of Russian devs and companies, including sanctioned banks GitHub has started suspending accounts of Russia-registered users in accordance with the latest full blocking sanctions placed by the US. This affected not only large banks, but individual developers as well.
Industry News April 4 Wargaming leaves Russia and Belarus, transfers all its local business to Lesta Studio World of Tanks and World of Warships developer Wargaming has decided to leave Russia and Belarus. It will transfer all its local business to Lesta Studio, which will also operate games in these countries.
Industry News March 22 10% of G5 Entertainment’s staff in Ukraine and over 20% staff in Russia already left their countries G5 has released a new statement, saying that its employees located in Ukraine and Russia are now leaving their countries. The company also condemned the actions of the Russian government, adding that it will stop distributing its games in the country.
Industry News March 22 GDC bans developers from Russia, canceling registrations and refunding tickets GDC has officially canceled registrations and tickets for game developers from Russia. The organizers made this decision in the interest of the conference’s attendees.
Legal March 21 Russian court labels Meta “extremist organization,” making all its business activities illegal Russia has officially recognized Meta as an “extremist organization,” meaning that the company’s business and services are banned in the country. However, people will still be able to use Facebook and Instagram despite them being blocked.
Industry News March 18 Devs demand answers from Valve as Steam stops sending payments not only to Russia but Ukraine as well Steam has stopped sending payments to Russia and Belarus. The restriction, however, also applies to Ukraine, which made local indie developers angry.
Industry News March 17 Square Enix joins growing list of companies to suspend game sales in Russia Square Enix has seemingly suspended game sales in Russia, with its titles becoming unavailable on Steam in the country. The company has also made a donation for humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees.
Industry News March 16 Almost 7000 mobile apps removed from App Store in Russia since February 24 As the exodus of tech companies from Russia continues, global developers continue to suspend their operations in accordance with sanctions and in support of Ukraine. Almost 7000 apps have already been removed from the country’s App Store.
Industry News March 15 GSC Game World changes S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 subtitle, says it won’t sell game in Russia Kyiv-based developer GSC Game World has shared two updates on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. First, it changed the game’s subtitle in accordance with Ukrainian language rules. Second, the studio decided to prohibit sales of the upcoming title in Russia.
Legal March 11 Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia calls to recognize Meta as “extremist organization” Following Meta’s decision to allow hate speech towards the Russian military on its platforms, the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office has called for a ban on Instagram, with the company being recognized as an “extremist organization.”
Industry News March 11 SEGA seemingly suspends sales in Russia, along with Humble Bundle, Niantic, and Plarium The exodus of game companies from Russia and / or Belarus continues as Humble Bundle, Niantic, Plarium, and SEGA remove their titles from these countries.
Industry News March 10 Sony, Nintendo, Google Play, Bungie, and WarnerMedia halt their operations in Russia Amid global support for Ukraine, more companies are suspending their business operations in Russia. Sony, Nintendo, WarnerMedia, and some other studios have joined the ongoing exodus.
Industry News March 9 G5 Entertainment CEO on helping its Ukrainian employees and not banning games in Russia: “This is less virtue-signaling and PR, but more doing” Vlad Suglobov, the CEO of G5 Entertainment, has opened up about supporting Ukrainian employees, opening new offices in other countries, and his decision to not suspend selling games in Russia.
Industry News March 4 Microsoft suspends all new sales of its products and services in Russia The list of companies suspending or stopping their business in Russia is getting bigger. Microsoft has announced its decision to stop all new sales of its products and services in the country while also committing to helping and supporting Ukraine.
Industry News March 4 Google stops selling online ads across its services in Russia, including YouTube and search Google has joined a broad range of companies that have limited or banned their services in Russia. The company decided to stop selling in the country, with restrictions covering search, YouTube, and publishing partners.
Industry News March 3 GitHub to not ban Russian developers despite calls to cut country from platform Some members of the GitHub community have been asking to ban Russian users for a week now. The platform, however, has decided to not restrict any developers, adding that it will still continue to examine government mandates.
Marketing January 20 MY.GAMES on how to sell and promote games in Russia — market that reached $2.2 billion in revenue in 2021 MY.GAMES Business Development Manager Dmitriy Byshonkov has shared some insights for international developers on how to sell and market video games in Russia. He detailed the importance of localization, regional pricing, and local marketing channels.