Edition “Kommersant” with reference to several sources at once toldthat the Russian authorities are preparing a plan to “rescue game developers” in the face of the wholesale departure of large market participants, as well as disconnections from sites like the App Store and Google Play.
Alexander Zhuravlev, head of the commission for legal support of the digital economy of the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association, spoke about state assistance within the framework of SPIEF-2022.
He stated that it is necessary to adapt tax and other benefits for the IT segment to the gaming industry. For example, it is necessary to include games at the MVP stage (early version, “minimum viable product”) in the register of domestic software – in this way, developers will be able to claim VAT benefits. It is also proposed to simplify the process of allocating grants and subsidies.
In addition, a proposal was made to freeze the commission of digital stores from the sale of games. RuStore, NashStore and RuMarket have not yet announced the commission, but the head of VK Vladimir Kiriyenko said that it “will definitely be less than 15%”. VK Play, by the way, has a small figure – 5%.
Recently, Plarium and Game Insight left Russia, large gaming companies are laying off employees, and Sber has closed the SberGames division.
