Column by the head of the RVI Vasily Ovchinnikov about how the state supports the video game industry
[ad_1]
The state began to show interest in supporting the video game industry. Last year, the Ministry of Digital Development approved a list of activities related to information technology, which included the creation, sale and publication of video games. As a result, the studios that remained in Russia received a package of benefits similar to those received by other IT companies. This measure was important for the industry, which received exemptions from inspections and tax breaks.
The next most important support measure for the industry may be the implementation of the August decrees of the President of the Russian Federation. Their implementation will make it possible to export Russian games to the BRICS countries, as well as to include Russian video games in the register of domestic software – this will give the industry additional opportunities for recovery and development.
The key economic problem of the industry is the departure of core investors from the USA, Europe and China from the Russian market and the so far not very confident attention to investment in the industry from non-core companies, as well as corporations and venture funds. And industry investment is now necessary: there are professional game development teams, but they have practically no funds for new large-scale projects and hiring specialists. Essentially, the industry currently lacks the financial resources to scale video game content production.
State support may be appropriate and will lay the foundation for the industry, but, of course, it will not give quick results. The first thing to do is to formulate a clear goal, for example, that in ten years 4-5% of the country’s GDP will be generated by the production and sale of games, and 60% of the games played in the CIS will be made in Russia. To achieve these results, it would be advisable to take care of a high level of competition, as well as help with the release of Russian games in other markets. You can focus on the experience of countries where the gaming industry has become one of the largest technology sectors, such as Korea, Japan, and Canada.
In addition, the industry has a request to improve the quality of training of specialists: it is necessary to solve a problem that existed before 2022, but has now worsened – the lack of teachers in educational institutions and mentors capable of guiding young specialists. New personnel is an important state task.
It is also necessary to create grant support, which will be aimed primarily at young teams and personnel for the industry. Now there are already cases of support for games from the Internet Development Institute, the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the Russian Foundation for Information Technology Development, the Innovation Promotion Foundation and “Russia – the Land of Opportunities” with the “Start the Game” project.
The industry does not expect any more support from the state; the above is sufficient. Now every day we are solving the remaining problems on our own, the main one of which is the lack of “long-term money” for development in Russia. We are looking for “import substitution” for core investors and publishers who have left the country, and introducing non-core investors to developers.
However, there are also measures that could harm the industry. First of all, I am talking about the consolidation of the industry in the hands of one corporation. Everyone must be able to work with everyone else to also compete for attention and resources. It is thanks to freedom of competition that world-class companies have emerged from Russia.
[ad_2]
Source link
