The Russian government is moving toward a dedicated program to channel subsidies and grants to domestic video game studios from the national budget, with the proposal expected to be ready by early February 2023. This initiative, first reported by Kommersant, signals a broader effort to strengthen the country’s creative tech sector and to build a more self-reliant gaming ecosystem.
According to insiders, the plan assigns the Ministry of Digital Development the lead role in designing and implementing the program, while the Ministry of Education and Science would contribute to workforce development through specialized training initiatives. The push for a formal federal project came after a directive from Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who urged the ministry to draft clear proposals and outline a sustainable framework for support that could be scaled across the industry.
As the government weighs allocations from the budget, no final decision has been announced. Kommersant reports that a meeting focusing on support for game developers was scheduled for December 14 at the Ministry of Digital Development, indicating ongoing consultations within the public sector about how best to structure grants, oversight, and eligibility criteria.
Developers interviewed by Kommersant have mixed views about the proposed scheme. Vasily Ovchinnikov, head of the Video Game Industry Development Organization, suggested that the industry needs a broader mix of measures beyond grants, including incentives that make the sector competitive on cost, capacity, and creativity. He pointed to a value-added tax exemption and a relaxation of foreign exchange controls as examples of how policy could directly impact operations and cash flow for studios operating in Russia.
A senior executive at a significant Russian studio told Kommersant that grant distribution should be handled by an authorized council composed of market participants, rather than by officials who may not have firsthand experience with game development. The underlying concern is that policy decisions should reflect practical industry needs and market realities, ensuring that financial support translates into tangible, long-term gains for developers and the local ecosystem.
Additionally, Maksut Shadayev, the former head of the Ministry of Digital Development, has articulated a broader strategic aim: creating a domestically developed game engine to reduce dependence on foreign technology and suppliers. This ambition aligns with the government’s broader push toward technological sovereignty and aims to empower Russian studios to innovate more freely, collaborate more effectively, and compete on a global stage without compromising national interests. The emphasis on a homegrown engine is part of a larger conversation about sustainable infrastructure that serves small and mid-sized studios as well as larger players in the market, ensuring that talent retention and technical capacity are cultivated within the country rather than outsourced abroad.