Russian lawmakers are considering a crackdown on video games, blaming them for “aggression and violence,” while attempts to produce local, “patriotic” games have failed to get traction so far.

Tighter control 

A draft law “On activities to develop and distribute video games on the territory of the Russian Federation” was recently prepared by a group of lawmakers and submitted to the State Duma lower chamber of Russian Parliament for consideration.

According to the draft’s explanatory note, the document aims to “regulate social relations arising in connection with the development and distribution of video games” and “protect morality, rights and legitimate interests of citizens.”

The draft law sets a number of requirements for distributors and publishers of video games, as well as online stores. Video games that could be viewed as promoting “the wrong” values, including LGBT or anything that could be viewed as contradicting “traditional Russian values,” could be banned.

In addition, video game publishers and vendors will be obliged to inform users about possible “images or descriptions of cruelty, physical and (or) mental violence” or video games containing profanity.

The draft law also stipulates mandatory identification of all gamers, with proposed options including the government service portal Gosuslugi, biometrics and phone number. This measure is apparently supposed to make sure that children can’t get access to video games that are not appropriate for their age.

 

Total ban ruled out

Still, contrary to some media reports, Russian authorities claimed that they are not considering a complete ban on video games, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in a post on his Telegram account.

Nevertheless, he stressed, that “destructive” content in video games should not be tolerated. He also alleged that violent content in video games was responsible for several attacks by high school students on other students and teachers in recent years.

“I emphasise once again, it is precisely about protecting children from destructive content on the Internet and in video games, from the propaganda there of information prohibited in our country – committing crimes, sex change, drug use and LGBT,” Volodin said in his post, adding that parents, teachers, experts, industry representatives, psychologists and all those interested will be involved in the discussion of the draft law.

 

Foreign vendors’ exit

Meanwhile, in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many large distributors of video games left the Russian market.

These include Bethesda, Sega, EA, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, CD Projekt and Wargaming. As a result, new games and upgraded versions of older games are no longer translated into Russian. Moreover, Russian residents are unable to buy games from the popular online store Steam or directly from a range of publishers.

Now, new game versions available in Russia are mostly pirated, featured amateur translations into the Russian language.

 

Local replacements

However, the Russian authorities seem to realise the popularity of game content, especially among the younger generation, and are trying to use video games to promote “the right” ideological values.

In late 2022, a major national project, “Game Industry of the Future,” was discussed, which stipulated funding of up to $50bn to support Russian game studios. Under a draft released at the time, 25 games with a budget of RUB6.5bn ($63mn) and above and 40 simpler game projects were supposed to be funded through 2030. But the initiative was apparently unable to obtain funding.

Still, government grants were distributed to game studios in 2022, and the first results are beginning to show.

The most highly publicised video game project that received government is Smuta, the development of which came with a price tag of RUB490mn ($4.8mn). The game was in development since 2020 by the little known Novosibirsk-based company Cyberia Nova and took off thanks to government funding administered by the Institute for Internet Development, known for supporting “patriotic” projects.

The game's plot is based on Mikhail Zagoskin's historical novel Yuri Miloslavsky, or the Russians in 1612, a bestseller of the early 19th century. The book is set in the early 17^th century Russia, during Smuta or “a time of troubles.”

Cyberia Nova’s head Alexei Koptsev told in an interview to the Russian computer game magazine Game World Navigator that the game helps to develop Russian patriotism in the younger generation, based on the examples of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, the heads of Russian militia that defended Moscow during Smuta.

In the game, players can storm Moscow and attend the crowning of Mikhail Romanov, as well as fight with bosses or transform into a prince, a robber or even a skomoroch – a medieval Russian harlequin.

According to Koptsev, 45 people on staff and a large number of outsourcers worked on the project, including scientific advisors.

Smuta was released in April 2024 on the Russian platform VK Play, a division of the VK social networking web site modelled on Facebook.

To play the game, which is available only for computers, and there are no plans to release a version for consoles, according to the developers, a user has to pay RUB410 ($4).

Meanwhile, following its release, Smuta was heavily criticised by Russian gamers. They said that the flagship “patriotic game” project turned out to be underdeveloped, full of technical issues and devoid of interesting content.

The largest Russian gamer web site GameMAG.ru concluded that Smuta is a “virtual Potemkin village,” built with a sole purpose of reporting to the grant issuer. “Outwardly everything looks beautiful and even works, but it is worth diving into the game, as this illusion collapses,” said the review. Other game reviewers called Smuta “not a game, but just an interactive history lesson” and criticised it for its too simplistic design.

 

More “patriotic games” under development

Several more “patriotic” video games are currently under development, funded by Russian government grants.

A game called Sparta is being developed Lipsar Studio, which was previously known only for mobile games with a primitive gameplay, under a RUB200mn ($1.94mn) grant. The video game is centred on a Russian private military company fighting “terrorists” in Africa. Although the name Wagner group isn’t mentioned, certain details in the game’s trailer are reminiscent of the private military company led by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The video game was originally scheduled to be released in late 2024, but the release date was later pushed to 2025.

Another “patriotic” video game developed in Russia, is named Cutting Edge and features a direct military clash between Russia and the US in Eastern Europe.

The goal of the game is stated as promoting narratives about Russian military power among young Russian gamers. In a clash with the United States’ military, the Russian army is endowed with a clear advantage due to its strong assault infantry.