The Russian government is pursuing a national strategy to strengthen its electronic entertainment sector, aiming to build a homegrown game engine capable of competing with leading platforms like Unreal Engine. A recent briefing reported by Kommersant, a political and economic daily, describes a December 15 meeting at the Ministry of Digital Development where officials and industry representatives outlined a plan titled The Video Game Industry of the Future. The proposals envision creating a domestic ecosystem modeled in part on a major global publisher, with a focus on nurturing local talent and safeguarding intellectual property.
Development of domestic industry
Practically speaking, the plan calls for the formation of a large central developer and publisher hub to spearhead the release of high-quality titles while enforcing robust copyright protections. A central element is the approval of new regulations that encourage research and educational initiatives. Rosme would serve as the strategic hub for developing the local industry, concentrating on project creation and scaling. The state would also assist in bringing new concepts to market and broadening their distribution within the country and beyond.
According to Kommersant, Russian authorities intend to establish a network of institutions under the Rosgame umbrella to stabilize and promote game development, presenting three distinct investment trajectories. In the first scenario, government funding could reach up to 7 billion euros, with the goal of placing Russian productions among the top 20 globally by 2030. A more ambitious path would allocate 20 billion euros to substantially transform the sector and bring it into direct state involvement. Yet the specifics of how such a leap would occur remain unclear, a point that has sparked debate given ongoing economic sanctions, limited domestic experience, and uncertain external partnerships.
In a broader vision, a third scenario imagines a total leadership approach, proposing investments on the order of 50 billion euros to turn the domestic market into a powerful cultural instrument. This would leverage soft power to extend Russian media influence, encouraging other nations to adopt its values through wide dissemination and collaboration. Industry and government officials stress that these plans require careful study and may hinge on revisions, the availability of external exploitation opportunities, and the alignment of the national budget with long-term commitments. Dmitry Chernyshenko, the minister overseeing tourism, sports, culture, and communications, cautioned that final proposals will demand extensive analysis and could be shaped by future outside input and evolving fiscal conditions. (source: Kommersant)