Putin Directs Russian Government To Create Domestic Gaming Industry

Russia is venturing into establishing its own gaming industry, complete with consoles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to explore this avenue, specifically mentioning the development of both stationary and portable consoles, as well as an operating system and cloud infrastructure for game delivery.

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This move comes as major game companies such as Sony Group Corp. SONY, Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Nintendo ADR NTDOY halted sales to Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this, local vendors continue to find ways to import foreign consoles.

Putin now perceives this as an opportunity to cultivate a domestic industry amidst Western sanctions.

According to local media reports, (via PCMagUK) Putin stated during a socio-economic meeting: “The government should consider the issue of creating a video game industry in Russia, including the production of stationary and portable game consoles.”

The government has until June 15 to delve into the proposal, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin overseeing the effort. However, challenges loom, including a dearth of expertise and the necessity for advanced chips, which may be restricted by the U.S. Establishing a console ecosystem also necessitates a vibrant community of developers.

Reports from newspaper Kommersant suggest VK, a Russian technology company, may spearhead the endeavor, though creating consoles from scratch could “take up to 10 years,” the article added.

Alternatively, Russia might explore collaboration with China to produce a portable console akin to Valve's Steam Deck.

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