Since January 2023, the gray market for video games has doubled the legal market: resellers have earned 4.5 billion rubles, legal retailers – up to 2.5 billion rubles. The reason for the gap is low prices for products, a larger range of products and their faster delivery by intermediaries.
Independent gaming expert Alexander Kuzmenko believes that the amount of 4.5 billion rubles is very close to reality. According to him, many people play with Turkish or Argentine accounts, and products are bought with cards from abroad or through gray companies that work from abroad, but accept money in rubles.
The Russian video game market collapsed by 80% in 2022. The reason for the fall was the departure and relocation of studios, as well as difficulties with financial transactions in the context of sanctions. Subsequently, the president instructed the government to promote Russian video games in foreign markets.
Author:
Karina Pardaeva
Source: RB
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