After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some countries around the world created numerous economic sanctions to “punish” President Vladimir Putin’s actions — also resulting in the departure of several companies from Russian territory. The war has been going on for a little over two years.
According to the most recent news, published on the Kremlin’s official website last Wednesday (27), Putin had instructed the government to evaluate the requirements to explore the development of its own video game console in Russia. In other words, a rival to the PS5 and Xbox Series S and X could be on the way, or some model to compete in the portable segment.
The president’s order was reportedly issued after a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Kaliningrad region. In addition to the console, Putin also reportedly asked his cabinet to consider developing a special operating system and a cloud system to deliver games and programs to users.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that Putin’s order to create a Russian console is aimed at developing the country’s native gaming industry.
Creating a new system from scratch can take more than 10 years
The deadline for executing the order was set for June 15, 2024 and the Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, would have been designated as responsible for the undertaking. According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant (via PCMag), the technology company VK would be responsible for implementing the plan. But there are some caveats to this whole equation.
The outlet states that “there is not enough competence to produce its ‘own PlayStation and Xbox consoles’. Creating such a system from scratch could take up to ten years.” Because of this, there are mentions of a more viable option for Russia, which would be the creation of a Steam Deck-style portable in partnership with China.
Russia may choose to create a Steam Deck-style portable in partnership with China.Source: Steam Deck
The invasion of Russian forces into Ukraine has been going on for just over two years. In addition to the departure of gaming companies, such as Take-Two, CD Projekt RED, Electronic Arts and PlayStation, companies in other sectors also suspended their activities there — such as Amazon, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, for example.
Remembering that Russia is the land of Tetris, the best-selling game in history and one of the biggest icons in the industry. Will the venture work? Comment your opinion on social media Voxel!
