Despite piracy remaining prevalent in Russia, video game piracy saw a sharp decline last year, according to a report from Vedomosti citing research by the XYZ school.
In 2024, video game piracy reportedly decreased by 13% compared to the previous year, with Russians illegally downloading 281 billion rubles worth of intellectual property. While two-thirds of domestic gamers still resort to piracy in some form, 57% of those who downloaded pirated content later purchased a licensed copy. This figure was shared by Vladimir Sinitsyn, a top manager at Ultimate Education, although the source of the data was not clarified.
Vasily Ovchinnikov, CEO of the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry, attributed the decline in piracy to players adapting to new payment methods and “virtual migration.” However, he did not mention another potential factor: the reduced number of high-profile game releases in 2024 compared to 2023, which may have contributed to the lower piracy rates.
The most popular pirated games included STALKER 2, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Path of Exile 2, and Elden Ring. Meanwhile, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is gaining momentum in the piracy scene.
