The Thriving Game Industry in Russia: Understanding Gamers’ Spending Habits

According to analytics from YooMoney and CheckIndex (source: Izvestia), the first five months of 2021 witnessed a significant surge in purchases made through gaming resources in Russia. Comparing this period to 2020, the number of purchases increased by 30%. Moreover, the average spend per gamer rose by 62%, reaching 367 rubles. Game enthusiasts also exhibited an increased appetite for orders, with the average number per individual rising by 64% to a total of eight orders.

In addition to in-game purchases, the demand for game consoles experienced a remarkable boost during the same five-month period. Sales both online and offline saw a 5.5-fold increase compared to 2020, and a 3.6-fold increase compared to 2019.

Among Russian regions, Saint Petersburg emerged as the leader in terms of the growth in the number of game fans, showing a staggering 4.2-fold increase. On the other hand, Arkhangelsk Oblast demonstrated the highest growth in game purchases, doubling their numbers.

Sales Trends in the Mobile Gaming Sector

According to industry experts from App Annie and Wargaming, the first quarter of 2021 proved to be the most successful period for the mobile game industry in Russia since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During January to March, Russian users spent a total of $235 million on mobile games (equivalent to 16.9 billion rubles based on the exchange rate of the Russian Federation Central Bank as of June 14). This marked an 11% increase compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the number of app downloads reached 727 million, surpassing the figures from the first quarter of 2020, which recorded 686 million downloads.

In terms of mobile game revenue, Russia secured the fifth position globally, trailing behind China, Brazil, the USA, and India.

Preferred Game Choices and Spending Habits of Gamers

According to a survey conducted by Sports.ru, more than half of the audience (54.5%) prefers multiplayer games, while the rest opt for single-player experiences. The favorite game genres among respondents include shooters (59.6%), RPGs (56.4%), and action games (53.8%). Strategies (40.5%), simulators (37.4%), and MOBA games (35.1%) enjoy less popularity. MMO games are favored by only 15.8% of respondents, quests by 12.2%, and fighting games by 9.4%.

When it comes to gaming platforms, the majority of surveyed gamers (83.3%) choose desktop games, while the remaining players prefer mobile gaming. Among consoles, PS4 is the most widely used, with 32.2% of gamers, while only 8.3% own a PS5. Nintendo Switch is preferred by only 4% of gamers, Xbox One and One X by 3.4%, and Xbox Series S and X are played by 2.5%.

In terms of purchasing habits, 45.2% of respondents make game purchases once every few months, and 20% do so only once a year. Around 16.8% of gamers are willing to spend on games once a month, 8% multiple times a month, and 1.1% every week. The remaining 8.9% of respondents stated that they do not buy games. Among the surveyed gamers, the majority (65.3%) spend up to 1,000 rubles per month on games, 31.3% spend between 1,000 and 5,000 rubles, and 3% spend between 5,000 and 10,000 rubles. Only 0.4% are willing to spend more than 10,000 rubles on games every month. In-game expenses to access certain features are also prevalent, with 83.8% of users making such purchases once every few months.

Regarding in-game purchases, 39.6% of gamers spend less than 1,000 rubles on in-game items, while 10.8% spend between 1,000 and 5,000 rubles. As compared to 2018, the spending level on games remained unchanged for 27.9% of the surveyed gamers. Meanwhile, 28% began spending less, 25.1% started spending slightly more, and 19% increased their spending significantly.

Purchasing Preferences in Games

According to MY.GAMES, Russian gamers primarily spend their money on purchasing in-game currency and items across PC, consoles, and mobile devices, while loot boxes are less popular.

The most commonly purchased item is in-game currency, with 47% of PC gamers, 46% of mobile gamers, and 39% of console users investing in it. In-game items are frequently bought by console gamers (43%) and PC gamers (44%). DLCs are purchased by 25% of console gamers, while the figure is lower for PC users at 17%. Console gamers also actively buy subscriptions (40%), in-game characters (39%), and various boosts (36%). Premium accounts are most commonly purchased by PC users, accounting for 30% of the audience. Around one-third of mobile gamers spend money on clues and energy for characters. However, less than one-fourth of users are willing to pay for the option to block ads. Loot boxes are the least popular expenditure among Russian gamers, with 14% of PC gamers, 16% of console gamers, and only 19% of mobile users buying them.