Google Play will ban monetization for Russian developers

According to the letter, Google Play will stop processing payments to developers whose bank accounts are opened in Russia. You will receive final payments for all transactions on January 15, 2025.

The restrictions also mean that users cannot purchase paid applications developed in Russia, as well as make purchases in them, acquire and renew subscriptions. Google emphasized that it will automatically reject any user attempts to make such transactions.

In May 2022, Google banned developers in Russia from adding new paid apps and updating old ones on Google Play. As of March 10, the store stopped accepting Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia, and later Mir cards, as a means of payment.

Paid mobile games occupied less than 2% of the national market; The main promotion model was free or shareware game applications, the monetization of which comes from internal payments or the display of advertising, noted an RBC source in one of the largest Russian game development companies in 2022. .

In March of the same year, Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia across all services, including the search engine, YouTube video hosting, and third-party partners. A few days earlier, Roskomnadzor threatened Google with sanctions, demanding that the corporation stop displaying contextual advertising with “false political information that misinforms the Russian audience.”

On March 10, 2022, YouTube completely suspended video monetization for Russian audiences and also closed access to Premium and Music Premium subscriptions.