In 2016, Russia’s gaming market was worth $1.4 billion — up from some $1 billion in 2015 — making it the 11th largest market in the world and the largest one in Central and Eastern Europe. This post covers an overview of Russian gaming over 2016 based on research by Newzoo from their 2016 Global Games Market Report and consumer insights.
Russians gaming market revenue by device
The three devices that are responsible for Russia’s growing game revenue include PCs, mobile devices, and consoles. The most popular platform Russians play on is a PC. 44% of revenues for Russian gaming is derived from PCs. When playing on a desktop or laptop Russians have access to Internet games as well as downloadable games. Of course there are other purchases that can be made for desktop gamers such as specific keyboards that help them game and other accessories.
Source: Newzoo
Mobile devices drove in 34% of the 2016 Russian gaming market revenue. The accessible nature of mobile gaming makes mobile devices the most convenient option for Russian gamers. The increase of Mobile Internet access is also a driving force in Russian mobile gaming.
Although only 22% of Russian gaming revenues comes from consoles, it’s still almost a quarter of the gaming population and significant portion of the market revenue. Consoles are not mobile, making them less convenient and transferable between devices. It is also more expensive to buy a console, as well as the games for it making it one of the less popular gaming devices.
Russian gamers by the numbers
Russia has an online population of 110.1 million people according to this report. Russian search marketing has published other numbers closer to 83 million but Newzoo’s research likely covers all internet users and isn’t limited to their amount of online activity to consider them a user. Of that population, 65% plays video games, making it clear why the gaming is one of Russia’s largest industries. Of Russia’s 72 million gamers, 56% of them pay for games. Of the 40.4 million these paying gamers, a typical Russian online gamer spent $35 in 2016 on online gaming. That includes games, accessories, or in-app purchases.
As the 11th largest gaming market in the world, Russian is certainly a key focus for any online gaming companies now and is expected to be an important market as it continues to grow.
This report first appeared in Russian Search Marketing, a syndication partner of East-West Digital News.
