Russian gamers spent 52.4 billion rubles on video games in the third quarter

In the study, XYZ classified gamers as those who spent more than five hours a week playing video games. In Russia there are about 25 million such people.

In the third quarter, 64% of Russian gamers bought new video games, the study’s authors found. Some of the most popular releases included Baldur’s Gate 3, Tiny Glade, Frostpunk 2, Black Myth: Wukong, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

The newspaper’s interlocutors felt that XYZ’s valuation seemed too high. At the same time, a more accurate assessment of the Russian video game market is complicated by the widespread use of intermediary services for the purchase of new releases, says Konstantin Sakhnov, co-founder of the Vengeance Games studio, interviewed by the publication. According to Sakhnov, it is almost impossible to calculate the income obtained through cryptocurrencies, third-party services and intermediaries to replenish the Steam service, and official channels represent only 10-15% of sales of PC titles.

Vedomosti interlocutors expect an increase in gamer spending in the fourth quarter of 2024, since in October-December the video game market is traditionally filled with new releases, sales, monetization promotions and the release of additional content for games . According to XYZ, in the first and second quarters of this year Russian gamers spent 49 billion and 54.5 billion rubles on games, respectively, and the figure for the entire year 2023 amounted to 161 billion rubles.

According to a September study by Strategy Partners, the Russian video game market will grow by approximately 5% annually until 2030. According to the company’s forecast, the volume of the video game market in Russia in 2024 will be 187 billion rubles, and in 2030 this figure will increase to 257 billion rubles.

The base development scenario of 5% assumes moderate growth in the number of new releases, continued unfavorable external conditions and weak growth in the player audience.