The Unigine game engine was excluded from the Russian software register of the Ministry of Digital Development
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The Unigine game engine, which was the only product of its class in the domestic software registry, is excluded from the list. The developers claim that the exception is of a “technical nature.” But the documents provide a “motivated appeal” about non-compliance with the requirements as a basis. Unigine, unlike the VK Nau Engine, is positioned primarily as a solution for industry and simulators. Meanwhile, this is where the official domestic origin of the development plays a decisive role.
The Ministry of Digital Development, based on the decision of the expert council, excluded the development tools (SDK) of the Unigine game engine from the register of Russian software, as follows from the corresponding entry. The decision was dated February 20, the reason was a “motivated appeal” containing information about the non-compliance of the software with the requirements. According to a Kommersant source in the market, the exclusion of Unigine is due to provisions in licensing agreements on compliance with international restrictions.
Unigine founder and CEO Denis Shergin told Kommersant that the company is updating the software documents and expects to return to the register: “We were notified of the change in the questionnaire on January 23, and were asked to fill out the information using the new format. They sent us clarifying documents, but we were temporarily removed from the register, citing another technical requirement that did not exist before.” The Ministry of Digital Development confirmed to Kommersant the reason indicated in the registry entry: “Unigine SDK was excluded for non-compliance of the software with current requirements.”
Unigine is positioned as an engine for simulators and digital twins in the aviation and oil and gas industries, integrated into BIM design applications, Smart City systems, and used to develop games and benchmarks (tools for measuring computing power). Latest version released in December 2023, the company offers custom development services for industry. Clients include the American New York Air Brake (manufacturer of train control systems), Chinese GeoStar (developer of smart city solutions), German Aviation and Space Center, etc.
The copyright holder of the Unigine SDK in Russia, Unigine LLC, is 100% owned by Unigine Holding registered in Luxembourg. According to the latest public data for 2020, the main shareholder was Mr. Shergin, the minority shareholder was the LETA Capital fund of Alexander Chachava. In December 2023, the CEO of Unigine confirmed to App2Top that the company would continue to operate in Russia.
According to documents on Unigine’s website, both the company and developers using the engine’s SDK must comply with “all national and international laws,” including restrictions set “in the EU and other countries and regions.” The requirements for participants in the register of Russian software imply that there are no restrictions on the distribution of software “established, including by foreign countries.” The provision is also in agreements that have not changed since 2020 (Unigine entered the register in April 2021).
Before its withdrawal, Unigine was the only game engine whose tools were included in the domestic software registry. But this will not create problems for game developers: the use of foreign engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, according to the “temporary order” established in 2023, should not prevent the inclusion of products created on them in the register (see “Kommersant” dated October 27, 2023) . This exception, according to the Ministry of Digital Development, should be in effect during the development of the Nau Engine (developed by VK). According to the project presentation, the public preview version will be released by the end of 2024, and the first final version will be released at the end of 2025. The project’s press service said they were “focusing on development,” but did not answer questions about plans to submit an application to the registry.
AV3.studio CEO Pavel Kudelin notes that the presence of the engine in the registry may be important for large corporations or companies with state participation that do not have the right or opportunity to resort to schemes for unauthorized use of software or are limited in purchasing foreign software due to security requirements. Among the well-known Russian projects with government participation, in which the Unigine engine is used, for example, the Be-200 aircraft simulator for the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
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