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In 2022, Russian users spent three times less on mobile games in the largest app stores Google Play and the App Store than a year earlier. Revenue of developers from the Russian market fell from $736.1 million ($1.05 billion before deducting a 30% commission from the App Store and Google Play app stores) in 2021 to $240.8 million ($343 million, respectively) in 2022 These data are provided by the international research company data.ai (formerly App Annie). Data.ai calls revenue the amount of funds spent by users from Russian accounts inside games, minus commission, according to the company's website.

The number of downloads of mobile games in 2022 in Russia decreased slightly, according to data.ai. So, in 2022, it amounted to 2.6 billion, which is only 4% less compared to 2021. The top 5 games by number of downloads included Subway Surfers, Roblox, Geometry Dash, Going Balls and Durak Online.

After March 2022, it became impossible to make purchases in Russia on Google Play, but the company allowed the use of external payment methods, while payment from the phone balance and gift cards remained in the App Store.

One of the alternatives for downloading and paying for games on Google Play and the App Store are their own pre-installed app stores from the largest smartphone manufacturers: LG (SmartWorld), Oppo (App Market), Samsung (Galaxy Store), Vivo (App Store), Xiaomi (GetApps ) and Huawei (AppGallery). The user can link a Russian bank card (Mir, Visa, Mastercard, Union Pay) to the account in the store of some of them, as well as pay for purchases from a phone account or Qiwi wallet.

The fall of the mobile segment of the Russian market in money terms is due to two key factors, explains Konstantin Sakhnov, founder of the Vengeance Games studio. The first of them is really a restriction on the ability to make payments. However, there is also a worldwide trend towards a decline in the volume of the mobile games market, Sakhnov noted. In Europe and the US, it is 4% in monetary terms and up to 3% in the number of downloads, the expert cited the data. The decrease in the consumption of mobile gaming content is associated with a correction after the covid boom in the growth of developers' revenues, explained Vasily Ovchinnikov, head of the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry.

Among the reasons for the decrease in the number of downloads is the fall in the market for hyper-casual games, which account for the largest number of downloads in Russia. This segment is currently experiencing significant difficulties and loss of interest from players in all developed countries, Sakhnov added. Also, the indicator was affected by a decrease in the number of gamers due to relocation in 2022, he predicts. According to the results of 2023, the number of mobile games downloads in Russia will practically not change, the expert predicts. Obviously, Russia has a large audience that is willing to pay for video game content, Ovchinnikov agrees.

Due to the fact that payments are blocked, the developers themselves are trying to give players alternative ways to pay, experts say. Google promptly allowed third-party payment services to be built into the software, Ovchinnikov noted. Some developers have begun to direct users to payment pages in browser versions or switched to a system of paying for internal content directly through applications, added Watt Studio co-founder Yegor Tomsky. You can also request the transfer of game progress from your Google Play account to Huawei and pay from your Qiwi wallet or Mir card, said Oleg Rozhnov, Development Director at Infinite Art Solutions.

In addition, 2022 has seen a slew of companies selling gift cards and activation codes to bypass restrictions or difficulty buying, Sakhnov knows. But the work of most of these companies, he said, is in a gray area and violates the rights of developers and publishers. In addition to domestic and European stores, in the new realities, intermediaries from Southeast Asian countries have entered the market, specializing mainly in MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Game, Massively Multiplayer Online Game) and mobile gaming, Sakhnov added. For example, Moonton, the Chinese developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, sells its in-game items through the kachishop website. At the same time, at least three consumers interviewed by Vedomosti reported that when making purchases on such websites, companies do not provide checks.

In Russia, almost all the same games that occupy leading positions in Western markets are popular, Sakhnov noted. The only exception is the United States, where the proportion of gambling and social casinos is extremely high. Among the popular Russian mobile projects are the Standoff 2 shooter, “by the peaks of attendance of which you can compare the time of change in schools throughout Russia”, “Tanks Blitz” and the role-playing game Atom RPG, Ovchinnikov listed.

If the ability to pay returns in the next 2-3 years, the volume of payments in mobile games for the year could recover by 80%, Sakhnov believes. “Longer restrictions for 5-7 years may have a negative impact on consumer culture, weaning Russians from buying in games and legally acquiring content,” he concluded.

Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2023/06/23/981877-trati-rossiyan-na-mobilnie-igri-upali-vtroe