The Russian government is moving closer to banning games that may have a bad influence on its citizens. Can we already say goodbye to our Russian teammates in CS:GO?
CS:GO is a very popular game in Russia, as any fan of the game from Valve already knows. In 2022, about 12% of all players were Russians, the highest percentage among gamers worldwide.
The reports from Russian media though, are becoming more serious about introducing a list of games that will be banned in the country – including CS:GO.
CS:GO Without Russians?
The Russian government has ordered the Prosecutor General's Office and various subordinate ministries to impose nationwide restrictions on video games, according to the Russian journal Kommersant. From the report, we learn that a committee under the legislators' council has accused unnamed but popular titles to negatively influence players' consciousness and subconsciousness.
Per Kommersant.ru:
“The government apparatus asks the Prosecutor General’s Office and ministries to evaluate ideas to protect children from the “negative” influence of video games. Among them is the creation of a list of approved games, a register of banned ones, and the requirement to pre-install domestic parental control programs on computers sold in the Russian Federation.
For those who are less savvy, looking at the restrictions mentioned above, there is a strong possibility that the well-known and well-loved Counter Strike: Global Offensive, among other games, is also about to be banned. Considering the aggression, violence, toxicity and monetization that is present in the game.
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The Russian government has already ordered the relevant authorities to introduce restrictions on gaming, which may happen in the near future. But this is not the end of the changes. As part of the effectiveness of this regulation, it is expected to soon mandate the installation of a special program on all devices that would automatically block the ability to play forbidden games.For many game publishers, Russia is still a very attractive market. For Valve itself, the introduction of such changes is bound to hurt financially, because the sudden loss of 12% of players is not a trivial matter.
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The date of the official introduction of all restrictions is not yet known to us, also by that time a lot can change, so stay tuned for updates!