SuperData and Wargaming analysts say that the Russian gaming market will grow by 57% in 2019. This will allow it to enter the top three largest gaming economies in Europe.
Dynamics of the digital video game market in Russia (2015-2020)
Last year, Russia was in fourth place with a turnover of $1.7 billion (8% of the market).
France took the third place. SuperData explains the change in the situation on the European market by two factors:
- low dynamics in most countries of the region due to a small number of premium releases (compared to previous years);
- the rapid growth of mobile gaming in Russia (in 2018 alone it grew by 51% — from $372 million to $561 million, this year the rapid growth will continue).
Despite the growth of mobile, the PC remains the most popular gaming platform in Russia. According to the authors of the report, in 2018 there were 79 million PC gamers in the country. By the end of 2019, their number will increase by 3%.
This audience brings the main cash register. In Russia, 45% of all revenue from games distributed digitally falls on free-play games for personal computers. For comparison, on average in Europe, this share is much less — 20%.
Distribution of video game market revenue in Russia and Europe by segment (2018)
An important growing segment of the Russian gaming market — esports — is also noted in the report.
Two-thirds of gamers (64%) in Russia watch video related to games. The most popular content is about Dota 2 and CS:GO. Eight of the top ten channels are devoted primarily to these games. However, they are not the most earning titles. Big box office for World of Tanks and “royal battles”.
Top highest-grossing games in Russia for 2018
Despite the rise in the turnover of the Russian market by the end of 2019, SuperData is confident that in 2020 its growth will slow down significantly.
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