The research center Russian Field conducted a phone survey among 1,600 Russians, focused on video games. It was revealed that less than a third of the respondents consider themselves gamers.
“Smuta”
- 70% of the surveyed Russians reported that they do not play video games at all. 1% were unsure about whether they play or not.
- 14% of survey participants admitted that they play every day. Another 10% do so several times a week, 2% a few times a month, and 3% once a month or less.
- Residents of large and medium-sized cities are more interested in video games than others: 35% of them reported being into gaming, compared to 20% of residents in small towns, villages, and rural areas. There are also more male gamers: 38% compared to 21% for women.
- The share of gamers increases along with the level of monthly income. For instance, only 17% of respondents earning less than 20,000 rubles a month play video games. Meanwhile, among those who earn more than 100,000 rubles, 51% are gamers.
- The most popular platforms in Russia are mobile (46%) and PC (45%). Only 8% of the surveyed gamers prefer to play on consoles.
- 56% of the surveyed gamers are primarily interested in single-player games. Russians aged 18-29 are more likely than others to play multiplayer projects.
- 16% of surveyed PC gamers identify as pirates. 44% buy games directly from official platforms like Steam, Epic Games Store, and VK Play, while 9% use intermediary websites. Another 24% don’t purchase anything and play free-to-play games.
- Russians mainly play puzzles (29%), shooters (29%), strategies (21%), RPGs (18%), and simulators (8%).
- Only 18% of respondents could recall examples of specific games from Russian developers—and not all responses were correct. For example, The Witcher by Poland's CD PROJEKT RED was included in their list. Overall, the top three best-known games from nominally Russian teams are as follows: Atomic Heart (5%), “Smuta” (3%), and Tetris (3%).