Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an exodus of foreign industries from the country, as Western nations unite in applying sanctions on the Putin regime. The games industry is one of the more prominent, with almost every major player now having withdrawn from Russia and closed any regional offices there. What's an ordinary Russian to do when they can't get their gaming fix? Pirate it, comrade.
This is an area where accurate figures are close to impossible, but it's fair to say that Russia more generally has a reputation for software piracy, one established long before the current war in Ukraine. A new study by the Russian game development collective and college School XYZ suggests that it's getting worse as companies withdraw from the market, with seven out of ten respondents admitting they'd pirated at least one game in 2022 (thanks, torrentfreak). 51% said they'd pirated more games in the last year than in the year beforehand.
