International Sanctions Drive 70% of Russian Gamers to Pirates

International Sanctions Drive 70% of Russian Gamers to Pirates

International Sanctions Drive 70% of Russian Gamers to Pirates.

Some game publishers and platforms have stopped selling their games in Russia due to sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to a study by online game development platform School XYZ, the withdrawal of operators has resulted in almost 70% of Russian gamers becoming pirates.

According to the survey, in 2022, 7 out of 10 Russian gamers will pirate games, which is an increase from previous years, with 5 out of 10 saying they are pirating more than before.

Fortunately for game publishers, more than 9 out of 10 gamers said they legally bought at least one game in the last year.

The amount of content pirated by Russian gamers varies widely. In total, 69 percent admitted to participating in piracy.

Of these, 27% admitted to pirating three games in the last year, and 20% said they had pirated more than 10 games.

Of the 31% of respondents who did not engage in piracy, they all expressed opposition to piracy.

For domestic game publishers who still sell games domestically, this part of the respondents may be an interesting demographic.

On the other hand, after Russia invaded Ukraine, popular gaming platforms such as Steam and GOG stopped supporting Russian bank cards, making it harder for Russians to buy games legally.

For those who have no moral qualms about piracy, pirating games is almost as easy as pie and free of charge.

While 31 percent of gamers now reject piracy, TorrentFreak says we could eventually see piracy rates reach 90 percent.

Konstantin Sakhov, co-founder of Vengeance Games, said piracy cost foreign game publishers as much as $300 million in lost profits in Russia, while local reports said even the country’s domestic games industry was feeling the pinch.

Since more and more Russians are now used to piracy, even if the sanctions are lifted tomorrow, it is not known how long it will take for piracy levels to drop again.

While some people prefer the convenience of platforms like Steam, others prioritize saving money, even if it’s illegal.

International Sanctions Drive 70% of Russian Gamers to Pirates