Demand, export, engine!

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In the context of payment restrictions, it is difficult for game developers to develop, and the state "must lend a helping hand," said the head of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev. In addition, a project to create a basic version of a game engine (game development software) has been announced in Russia. This will be done by the VK company . The Rostec state corporation, which had previously also announced its desire to participate in the development of such software, is still interested in implementing the project.

BYPASS SANCTIONS

Game development has suffered greatly from financial and technological sanctions, the state is preparing a package of measures to support this segment of the IT industry, promised the head of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev at a press conference dedicated to the project to create a domestic game engine. According to him,

the main thing for content writing service companies is demand, they can develop only with access to external markets

The Minister spoke about the preparation of a draft law on pre-installation of games and payment systems on phones and tablets without the participation of international companies.



– The Ministry of Digital Development, together with industry leaders, is preparing a major bill that will allow games to be pre-installed on mobile platforms, including those not from the AppStore, and will make it possible to make payments to them not from international payment systems, but through the systems of companies that dominate the Russian market.

In addition, he shared,

a program is being prepared to stimulate and support the export of domestic games to China

It compensates for “the exit from those markets where we are currently experiencing difficulties.”

Particular attention will be paid to training personnel for the gaming industry, added Maksut Shadayev.

In 2022, Russian game developers lost the opportunity to continue working with global online application stores: Steam, Google Play, AppStore and some others. Due to the suspension of the Visa, Mastercard and PayPal payment systems in Russia, money from buyers cannot reach the studios. In addition, popular global game stores do not allow replenishing wallets from the Russian Federation, which means that selling new products has become more difficult. Domestic studios have also lost access to foreign professional software.

Many large companies in this situation transferred their main legal entities and financial flows to other countries (Cyprus, Singapore, American offshores) and continued working, Sergey Golubkin, evangelist of the IT Crimea technopark, co-founder of the gamedev studios Maxelium AS, Drunkard Raccoons, told RSpectr. But medium and small studios do not have such resources, in fact, they have completely lost legal sales markets and opportunities to continue working.