Russia is Legalizing Video Game Piracy in Response to Sanctions

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Russia's status as one of the world's leading nuclear powers has kept most other countries from responding to its invasion of Ukraine with military action, but other steps have been taken to try to stop the war. Countries around the world have imposed severe sanctions on Russia in an effort to destroy the country's economy, with numerous tech companies and video game developers joining the effort by refusing to sell their products in the region until the crisis is over.

The economic sanctions on Russia have had an astounding impact on the country's economy, reducing the value of Russia's ruble below Roblox's Robux. Russia will have to react to the sanctions from each industry in different ways, but when it comes to things like tech and video games, it seems to have come up with a way to get around the sanctions. The Russian government is effectively making it legal for its citizens to pirate video games and other content from companies located in countries that have imposed sanctions on it.

As reported by City A.M. and IGN, the Russian government is now allowing it companies to use IP from companies located in other countries without actually having to pay them. It's also been suggested that torrent sites will be unblocked to make it easier for Russian citizens to pirate content. Russian citizens will be able to pirate movies without needing to fear any kind of legal repercussions, and this would extend to other forms of entertainment as well, like video games and TV shows.

Депутат Госдумы Дмитрий Ионин предложил разблокировать RuTracker

Так как многие западные студии отказались от выпуска новых кинолент в России, парламентарий считает, что благодаря торрент-трекеру пользователи смогут увидеть голливудские фильмы. pic.twitter.com/muO1VitjTO
— Газета.Ru (@GazetaRu) March 3, 2022

However, it's been reported by PlayStation Lifestyle that a sizable portion of Russian consumers tend to pirate content anyway, so it's unclear what effect this will really have. It's quite possible that Russians were pirating video games and other entertainment in the wake of the sanctions already, though now they will be able to do it without having to worry about potentially running into legal trouble.

As it stands, piracy is the only way that Russian gamers will be able to play new games for the foreseeable future, as pretty much every major video game company has suspended sales in the region. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all suspended sales in Russia to protest the invasion and support Ukraine, and the biggest publishers in the industry have taken similar measures. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is ongoing, and it remains to be seen when exactly the conflict will be resolved, so it's hard to say how long these economic sanctions will last.