In keeping with a brand new examine from on-line recreation growth platform Faculty XYZ, the exodus of main worldwide online game publishers from Russia led to a pointy rise within the variety of video players enjoying pirates video games. TorrentFreak experiences: Virtually seven out of ten video players (69%) mentioned they’d performed no less than one pirated copy in 2022, and greater than half (51%) mentioned that they are now pirating greater than they did in 2021. As first reported by the Russian information outlet Vedomosti (paywall), the examine was performed throughout all areas of Russia and took under consideration all unlicensed recreation codecs, usually downloaded from torrent websites. Whereas over 1 / 4 of respondents (27%) mentioned they’d pirated three PC video games in 2022, and 20% confessed to pirating greater than 10, different figures from the examine are extra optimistic. Of the 31% of players who reported pirating nothing in 2022, all mentioned that they had been against piracy. Simply 7% of players admitted to purchasing no video games in any respect in 2022, which means that 93% purchased no less than one piece of reputable content material.
In keeping with Alexander Kuzmenko, the previous editor of Russian videogame journal and gaming web site Igromania (Recreation Mania), it isn’t simply the departure of publishers together with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo inflicting downside for players. When platforms like Steam and GOG, identified for his or her ease of entry, stopped supporting Russian financial institution playing cards, obstacles appeared in a beforehand frictionless system. Yegor Tomsky, CEO at Watt Studio, agrees that purchasing content material has develop into far more troublesome. “Gamers are used to purchasing video games on Steam in a single click on, and now, to purchase a recreation, that you must carry out the identical actions as when downloading a pirated model, so everybody chooses to economize,” Tomsky says.
Because the Russian economic system faces enormous difficulties instantly linked to the invasion of Ukraine, some concern that recreation piracy charges are heading in the direction of the 90%+ mark final seen round 20 years in the past. Individuals in every single place try to economize and based on Konstantin Sakhnov, co-founder of Vengeance Video games, abroad recreation publishers might even see misplaced earnings attain $200-$300 million. A report from Kommersant printed right now signifies that native firms are additionally feeling the ache. In keeping with information printed by job search platform HH.ru, in the course of the first half of 2023 the variety of vacancies for online game builders in Russia plummeted 38%.