Weekend Highlights (November 22-23)

Analysts have estimated that annual spending by Russians on games amounts to 380 billion rubles. Sony games on Steam have generated $1.5 billion, and the Xbox 360 has celebrated its 20th anniversary. Here, we outline the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

• During her presentation at the "Creators" forum, Gulnara Agamova, CEO of the "Creative Industries Agency" (CIA), shared data on the revenue of the Russian gaming market. She stated that Russian gamers spend around 380 billion rubles annually, with 80% of spending (i.e., 320 billion rubles) generated by Muscovites. Notably, these figures differ significantly from those in a recent joint study by CIA, Strategy Partners, and the RVIA association. It indicates that by the end of 2025, the volume of the Russian gaming market will total 200 billion rubles, and only by 2030 might it potentially reach 371 billion rubles under an optimistic scenario.
• Sales of all Sony-published games on Steam have exceeded 43 million copies, with their total gross revenue reaching $1.5 billion. This conclusion was reached by the analytics company Alinea Analytics. According to their estimates, Sony's biggest Steam hit has been the shooter Helldivers 2, responsible for 12.7 million copies sold and $400 million in revenue. Removing third-party studio games and focusing solely on PlayStation's internal projects, Horizon Zero Dawn takes the lead, with Alinea Analytics reporting 4.5 million copies and $170 million.
• On November 22, the Xbox 360 celebrated its 20th birthday: released in 2005, it remains Microsoft's best-selling console. In honor of the anniversary, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella shared that in the US alone, it sold 42.7 million units. He also mentioned that the best-selling game on the Xbox 360 was Call of Duty: Black Ops II, outperforming all other titles in both unit sales and revenue.
• Capcom announced that Resident Evil Requiem has been wishlisted over 3 million times. The company did not provide a platform-by-platform breakdown, but a significant portion likely came from Steam. Currently, Resident Evil Requiem ranks fourth in the list of most anticipated games on Steam, trailing only Subnautica 2, Deadlock, and Light No Fire in the number of wishlists. The release of "Requiem" is set for February 27, 2026, on PC and consoles.