Toy soldiers? The Kremlin is trying to boost Russia's video game industry

Russia’s financial shape, despite domestic growth, is facing the dire consequences of sanctions, plus the expected setbacks of a wartime economy. It's not exactly the best outlook to invest in a new venture.

However, despite the bleak financial landscape, Russian President Vladimir Putin knows where his priorities are: Video games!

According to Russia Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested his country produce “stationary and portable game consoles” along with an OS and a cloud system capable of delivering games and programs to customers.

Putin issued the order after a meeting on the economic development of the Kaliningrad region, a Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained that Putin’s demand aims at fostering a local gaming industry.

PC Magazine explains that major video game companies, such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, have halted official sales in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Image: jeshoots / Unsplash

The sales of video games developed by Russian studios have also been affected by sanctions and, in some cases, boycotted by the public.

However, apparently local vendors have found a way to circumnavigate sanctions to continue the import and sales of video game consoles.

PC Magazine writes that Vladimir Putin has given a tight deadline, with Russian tech developers having until June 15, 2024, to make a video game console.

Likewise, Putin designed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to supervise the Russian homegrown video game console.

However, experts are less than optimistic about Putin’s video game scheme.

Russia Today cites the Organization for Developing the Video Game Industry (RVI), which presented an 83-point,five-year program to the Kremlin for developing video games in Russia by 2027, at the latest.

On the other hand, PC Magazine cites Russian newspaper Kommersant, arguing it would take at least a decade for the country to replicate something akin to an Xbox or a PlayStation from scratch.

Image: alexhaney / Unsplash

If Russia manages to develop their own mass-produced video game console in the next 10 years, it will be likely lagging for many years compared to whatever the video game industry would be offering at the time.

Back in the 1980s, the Soviet Union actually managed to develop something of a local video game industry, with arcade rooms mostly focused on sports or military-themed games.

In fact, Tetris, one of the most well-known video games of all-time, started out developed by Soviet programmers.

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Maybe it would be easier for Putin to wait for Christmas and write a letter to Santa Claus?