war ThunderA game developed by Russian studio Gaijin Entertainment Image: Gaijin Entertainment
Russia is looking at the possibility of developing a national video game engine to support the country’s developers if US companies such as Unreal Engine maker Epic Games and Unity Technologies refuse to do business with them over the Russian government’s ongoing attack on Ukraine. Huh, Kommersant Report. (h/t) exputer,
Kommersant Sources say the possibility of such a state response sprouted in May at a closed-door meeting between presidential administration officials and a representative of the Russian video game industry. Epic blocking in-game commerce in Russia and Unity “stopping ties” with Russian government-affiliated entities following the invasion of Ukraine, some fear local studios may lose access to critical development tools altogether at some point.
Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development confirmed Kommersant That it is in talks with “key players” in the IT industry, including Russian social media platform VK, about the need to support the country’s video game industry with a domestic game engine. The prevailing argument is that such initiatives can be funded through grants from the Russian Foundation for the Development of Information Technology, which typically range from 20 million rubles (approximately $345,000 USD) to 500 million rubles (approx. $8.6 million USD).
I Can’t Help But Watch Russia Perform Your Version of Bender’s Popular “Blackjacks and Hookers” Routine futurama, Like building a theme park, building a new game engine from the ground up is neither cheap nor simple, and those who know better have serious doubts about the viability of this hypothetical project.
G/O Media may get commission
For example, an unnamed source in the Russian sports industry reported Kommersant That would require the government to invest tens of millions of dollars to match the built-up ecosystem of “logical blocks, assets, and plugins” available through other game engines. Another expert voiced concerns about the need to play ball to training experts as well as video card makers such as Nvidia and AMD, both of which have also stopped doing business in Russia.
My very clever business and political analysis tells me that Russia probably doesn’t have the resources to go that far, especially as the months-long conflict with Ukraine and subsequent global sanctions continues to wreak havoc on the Russian economy. has kept. While it would be nice to see more competition in the game engine space, it is only a matter of time before, much like Bender, the handful of elites running the country get bored and decide to spend the money on yachts and fly instead. .
