Can they even purchase most games?
Not all that surprising that piracy has become so big in Russia. If people can’t access something legally they’ll still find a way. Wasn’t there a proposal to essentially legalize piracy back when Western businesses started pulling out of Russia? Or at least loosen the restrictions against piracy? Not sure if it ever happened, but it’s hard to see that percentage of piracy go down unless relations between Russia and the West normalize. Or unless Western businesses quietly start doing business there again once they think no one cares.
“One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue… The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.”
Though pricing is a big part of it, so fair regional pricing absolutely needs to be a part of the solution.
So either the service is poor in Russia (most likely with the sanctions) or the pricing is wrong (also likely) for piracy to be as prevalent as it is.
