Russian officials are considering a 'Russian Electronic Arts' to save the country's crumbling games industry

[Kane99]

Source - https://www.pcgamer.com/russian-officials-are-considering-a-russian-electronic-arts-to-save-the-countrys-crumbling-games-industry/

Never would have expected Russian officials to discuss making their own gaming publisher, like a Russian EA as the article puts it. This is a plan officials are trying to make, so that they can revitalize the gaming industry in Russia and help it grow to something as big as some of the best. 

Honestly I'm all for countries supporting video games, but when I hear officials and people of government in an article about gaming, I automatically assume there's some nefarious shit going down. I can see Russia using gaming to draw their youth. Idk, I don't want to get into politics, but I suspect that Russia has some ulterior motives I'm sure. But if it produces fun games that aren't propaganda filled, than hey, I'm for it. :D 

[Empire]

Russian officials also consider building cars, producing medicine and microchips, and so on. They actually know pretty well none of those things are remotely achievable because talented people already fled the country. So why mention it? Because in totalitarian regime you need to create an illusion that you are somehow valuable and have ideas on how to "fix" things.

[Reality vs Adventure]

Well this is something where I have zero confidence in Russia's government to promote gaming and provide funding for it as some kind of policy. You have a government where it has violated human rights invading another country and against its own people. This is probably part of their re-education camps and provide a way to reach the new youth that Russians have kidnapped from Ukraine. Everything is what you would expect in a regime. Developers and publishers no doubt would be pressured by the government especially when it's on Putin's dime. Would they go so far as to promote their propaganda in games? Why wouldn't they? It's who they are. They could probably be successful in their own country, but on the international scale, they would have to get around sanctions and bad reputation. This is nothing new I guess. All forms of entertainment gets used for propaganda. It's just that making games coming from the mind of Putin and trying to sell to the world is frightening. Putin was head of the KGB so he knows exactly what messaging to add. I'm sure the games will be laced with all sorts of hidden brainwashing messages. Bet their developers will be forced to live and work in government sponsored gaming camps where the KGB and military add a bit of pizzazz to the development of games. Then assholes in the world will copy the attempt, and other assholes will modify the games and exploit it even more to kids, exactly what Putin wants. Sanctions probably will prevent that from happening. But if the wrong people are in control of your government that are pro Putin, then they will copy his formula and try to do the same in the gaming world and make it state sponsored propaganda with government funding, government stamped for approval. Musk the oligarch will buy up developers and turn gaming into a terrorist hobby. It's right around the corner.  

[The Blackangel]

I have to concur with @Reality vs Adventure on this one. I have no confidence in Russia's motives. There's something else going on here. Also, I just wonder what country would even want any games they produced. There's at least a 98% chance that the games would be full of propaganda and brainwashing techniques. And with as greedy as Putin is, I doubt many people would even be able to afford them. And what platform are they wanting to release these games on? Almost every civilized nation has spoken out against the war Putin started against Ukraine. That includes spokespeople for the gaming companies. Russia's imports have slowed to an extreme, and a few countries have stopped trading with or selling to Russia all together. So if they decided to actually go through with this asinine idea, they would most likely be forced to come up with their own version of a console as well. Unless the games are all PC games, but even then, they control what parts of the internet are allowed, so not everyone has a computer. Russia may be a first world country, but that doesn't mean that a lot of its people aren't poor.

It's a complete waste of time, and utterly pointless in my opinion.

[Crazycrab]

Does anyone else think that Russian officials wanting to start a game company with the ambition of becoming "The Russian EA" is a bit like them getting a new filmmaker to go to Hollywood with the ambition of becoming the "Russian M. Night Shyamalan"?.  You think they'd aim to be a little better than that!

[m76]

Hey Rossiya, you know what would  help revitalizing not just gaming but all industries? Not engaging in expansionist imperialist warfare. Just an idea.

A state run and funded game publisher? Just imagine all the great games designed by committee.