In 2023, Russian users downloaded the Roblox platform for games and their creation in the App Store and Google Play 10 million times, making it the most popular game application in the country. This information was provided by the research company data.ai, according to which the Roblox codes has become the leader among mobile games for Russian users.
The anime-style character creation simulator Gacha Life 2 took second place with 9.36 million downloads, while the puzzle game Royal Match took third place with 8.9 million downloads, according to the data.ai report. Researchers note that hyper casual games, which are effortless and feature a simple interface, have emerged as the major growth drivers for the mobile gaming market in 2023, leading to an 11% increase in downloads.
Overall, the number of game installations from the App Store and Google Play from Russia increased by 4% year-on-year to 2.73 billion in 2022. Importantly, the number of downloads in Russia decreased by 4% year-on-year to 2.63 billion in 2022 compared to 2021. The Russian mobile apps and games market remains the sixth largest in the world, showing a 1% growth in total downloads from the App Store and Google Play last year.
Evgeny Perov, product director of corporate messenger Compass, noted that Russians spent about $1.6 billion on mobile gaming in 2022, and predicts that the final amount for 2023 could reach $1.8 billion. This growth, he said, is due to Russian users registering foreign accounts to access content not available in Russia, including games.
The important news is also the start of work by the Lesta Games studio on the creation of a new AAA-level multiplayer online game, which will receive investments of $25-30 million. The company has chosen for its project the Unreal Engine 5 technology from Epic Games, which is popular among developers and available on the market.