PLAYISM will publish Silver Lining Studio-developed storytelling puzzle adventure game The Star Named EOS when it launches for PC via Steam in 2024, the company announced. The release is a delay from its previously planned 2023 release window. It will support English, Japanese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, and Russian language options.
As the games industry freezes out Russia, Russians double-down on piracy
31.07.2023 - 15:49 / pcgamer.com
Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an exodus of foreign industries from the country, as Western nations unite in applying sanctions on the Putin regime. The games industry is one of the more prominent, with almost every major player now having withdrawn from Russia and closed any regional offices there. What's an ordinary Russian to do when they can't get their gaming fix? Pirate it, comrade.
This is an area where accurate figures are close to impossible, but it's fair to say that Russia more generally has a reputation for software piracy, one established long before the current war in Ukraine. A new study by the Russian game development collective and college School XYZ suggests that it's getting worse as companies withdraw from the market, with seven out of ten respondents admitting they'd pirated at least one game in 2022 (thanks, torrentfreak). 51% said they'd pirated more games in the last year than in the year beforehand.
This is first of all one study, and self-selecting inasmuch as it was conducted online and the respondents will mostly have had an existing interest in games. It took place in June 2023 and the sample size is 1,500 people across all regions of Russia. A pirated game is broadly defined but, per XYZ School COO Emma Yusova, the majority are downloaded from torrent trackers.
Perhaps more importantly, it takes place following an unprecedented withdrawal of Western firms from Russia and, within a very short timeframe, most existing marketplaces no longer selling in the region. Some content libraries allow Russians to access content purchased before 2022, though not all, but Russian gamers now have few routes to buy new games legitimately. This is incidentally not limited to videogames: books, movies, music, all new media releases are now hard to obtain through proper channels.
As well as the 69% of respondents admitting to playing at least one pirated game in 2022, 27% said they'd pirated three or more games, with 20% saying the figure was ten or more titles. Of the 31% of Russians who said they hadn't pirated anything, almost all cited a personal objection to the act, while 7% said they hadn't bought a new game in 2022 at all.
Taking these figures at face value, they clearly align with a classic argument about piracy, which has been summed up by no less than Gabe Newell as a «distribution problem.» That is, when people cannot access content easily and legitimately, piracy becomes an attractive solution.
Steam itself is a great example here, because the platform still operates in Russia, but no longer accepts Russian bank cards or allows Russian users to make purchases. There are ways around this, but of course they are inconvenient and can involve buying gift
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
tech.hindustantimes.com
20.08.2023 / 09:45
Russia's Luna-25 has smashed into the moon
Russia's Luna-25 space craft has crashed into the moon after it spun into uncontrolled orbit, Russia's space corporation Roskosmos said on Sunday. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge)
tech.hindustantimes.com
19.08.2023 / 15:11
Former ISRO chief looks to the future as Chandrayaan-3 mission nears lunar touchdown
As Chandrayaan-3 inches closer to its lunar touchdown, former ISRO chief K Sivan has shared his thoughts on future space missions. Chandrayaan-3, a continuation of Chandrayaan-2 mission, aims to showcase India's capabilities in safe lunar landings and lunar exploration. It's equipped with a propulsion module, lander module, and a rover to test new interplanetary technologies.
tech.hindustantimes.com
19.08.2023 / 09:37
Asteroid, as big as Boeing 777, is hurtling towards Earth; NASA shares the details
Asteroids will always be a matter of concern for the Earth. Therefore, their detection and monitoring is necessary. One meteor named the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia on February 15, 2013. It injured 1,500 people with flying glass from broken windows. The Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), a branch of NASA, monitors the skies and keeps a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). The organization has recently issued a warning against an asteroid designated as Asteroid 2023 PM1. It is just one of the millions of asteroids that have been discovered to date. NASA keeps an eye on the asteroids with the help of advanced ground and space-based telescopes and satellites.
ign.com
16.08.2023 / 16:23
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the First Modern Warfare to Have Zombies, Includes Classic MW2 Maps
Call of Duty fans are unearthing new information on Modern Warfare 3 via a secret mobile number, confirming a Zombies mode and remakes of classic Modern Warfare 2 maps.
gamesradar.com
15.08.2023 / 17:21
Stranger Things: The Voyage takes us a long way from Hawkins
Season 5 may still be a long way off, but the gateways to the Upside Down are opening once more this November, with a new Stranger Things comic from Dark Horse. Rather than taking place in Hawkins, Indiana, however, the new series is set on a boat that's about to sail into real danger.
comingsoon.net
14.08.2023 / 16:35
Kraven the Hunter Director Describes Marvel Movie as a ‘Tragedy’
The upcoming movie won’t be following the blueprint of classic superhero films, with its director calling the upcoming film “a tragedy” in a recent interview.
pcmag.com
11.08.2023 / 11:26
Russia Sends a Lunar Lander to the Moon
Russia has successfully launched a rocket carrying a lunar lander which should touch down on the surface of the Moon on Aug. 23.
wccftech.com
11.08.2023 / 07:13
Metro Series Author Dmitry Glukhovsky Given an 8-Year Prison Term For Spreading ‘Lies’ About Russia’s Army
Author of the Metro series novels, Dmitry Glukhovsky, has been sentenced to an eight-year prison team for spreading misinformation about the Russian army.
tech.hindustantimes.com
11.08.2023 / 03:27
Russia seeks to return to the Moon after almost 50-year break
Russia is set to return to the moon after nearly 50 years by sending an uncrewed lander toward the lunar south pole, joining a race with NASA and other space agencies.
videogameschronicle.com
10.08.2023 / 10:31
Metro author handed 8-year prison term for speaking out against Russian invasion
The author behind the Metro series of books and video games is wanted by Russian authorities after it was claimed he spread false information about Russia’s armed forces.
tech.hindustantimes.com
10.08.2023 / 05:45
India's Chandrayaan-3 Vs Russia's Luna-25: Race to the Moon
India's Chandrayaan- 3 spacecraft has moved closer to the Moon's surface and it has reduced the orbit by 174 km x 1437 km, ISRO revealed. Now, it will conduct another major manoeuvre on August 14, which will take the spacecraft even closer to the moon. Along with India's Moon mission, Russia is now set to launch its Lunar mission. This will happen tomorrow, August 11, and it will be the country's first attempt after 45 years. Experts believe that both may well have similar landing days.