59% of surveyed Russian gamers have not played games created by domestic developers in the past two to three years. Another 16% were unsure. This is reported in a recent VTsIOM survey on gaming topics.
“Rus vs. Lizards 2”
A total of 1,601 residents of Russia participated in the VTsIOM survey. 77% have gaming experience.
It should be noted upfront that while VTsIOM refers to the games listed in the study as Russian, not all of them are genuinely so. Some have only a tenuous connection to Russia. Technically, they could be designated as games from studios with roots in Russia.
The most popular game mentioned in the survey is Atomic Heart, played by 6% of the VTsIOM-surveyed gamers. Other top games include Warface (2%), World of Tanks (2%), Tiny Bunny (2%), and "Endless Summer" (2%).
Overall, 59% of all respondents, not just gamers, have heard of Russian games or games that can be loosely categorized as Russian. Atomic Heart and Warface are again the most recognized, known by 30% of those surveyed. Moreover, many are aware of the existence of games like "Truckers" (29%), "Trouble" (24%), "Corsairs" (20%), Heroes of Might & Magic V (18%), "Rus vs. Lizards" (17%), "Petka and Vasily Ivanovich Save the Galaxy" (17%), Escape from Tarkov (14%), Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (13%), among others.
As VTsIOM reasonably noted, Russians under 35 are primarily familiar with modern games, while older respondents remember games from the 2000s.
Updated: slightly changed the wording in the news for greater accuracy.