Russia proposes mandatory content labels and authentication of video game purchases. It could mean the end for services like Steam and GOG.

Russian lawmakers recently drafted legislation that would federally regulate the distribution of video games. The proposed law requires game publishers and digital stores to inform buyers about the content of games, but more importantly, it would mandate user authentication (for example, via the state’s “Gosuslugi” online portal). Industry experts say the law will primarily target foreign digital stores that continue to operate in the country. Meduza explains Russian lawmakers’ scheme to establish control over the gaming world.

What the legislation says

The bill legally recognizes and defines “video game distribution services” (namely, digital stores) and “video game distributors.” Judging by the description in the legislation, the terms refer to publishers and distributors, including those that operate digitally. In other words, the definitions partially overlap. The new law would apply to all companies operating in Russia.

Digital stores would be subject primarily to technical requirements that most platforms already observe. For example, the draft law would force publishers and distributors to restrict Russian users’ access to materials banned in the country and inform customers about explicit game content and in-game purchases. The legislation implies that “distributors” must mark their products with special labels if the games contain:

• Images or depictions of cruelty, physical, or psychological violence
• Scenes capable of inducing fear or panic
• Images or depictions of sexual activity
• Profanity
• Images or depictions of alcohol and tobacco consumption
• Images, mentions, or descriptions of drug use

The bill delegates evaluations of game content to government-accredited expert organizations, though lawmakers do not clarify whether new or existing groups would handle this work. The organizations would include experts with “specialized knowledge in pedagogy, developmental psychology, age physiology, psychiatry, cultural studies, art criticism, and video game development and distribution.” According to the bill, game publishers themselves would need to cover the costs of such evaluations.

A separate article in the legislation addresses the need for “identifying video game users.” Publishers or distributors must “authorize” users located in Russia through the Gosuslugi online portal, the Unified Biometric System, or a mobile phone number. Officials offered no explanation for this new requirement, and it’s unclear from the legislation if “distributors” would be forced to provide these user data to the authorities.

In their explanatory note, lawmakers argue that the legislation will ensure “the psychological safety of citizens against the negative effects of video games” and protect “the morality, rights, and legitimate interests of citizens.” At the same time, legislators made no effort to explain how registering gamers’ identities would contribute to public safety or “morality.”

It’s possible that Russian lawmakers don’t really know what they want to do with this legislation and might end up just blocking Steam

The draft law has two major issues. First, its wording is extremely vague, drawing significant criticism from legal experts. Second, it’s unclear who exactly must adhere to the proposed requirements, how they should be implemented, and who would oversee the process.

A spokesperson for an unnamed Russian gaming studio told the newspaper Kommersant that foreign digital distribution platforms, like Steam and GOG, currently do not comply with the bill’s requirements and are unlikely to do so. The studio spokesperson warned that the State Duma’s draft law could serve as grounds to block these enormously popular services in Russia.

At the same time, Russian companies could be disadvantaged, forced to spend additional funds to integrate authorization systems and conduct “expert evaluations.” Another source pointed out to Kommersant that Western companies might simply ignore the new requirements and potentially continue operating in Russia regardless.

One of the bill’s authors, State Duma Information Policy Committee Deputy Chair Anton Gorelkin, criticized Kommersant’s report on the gaming legislation. On his Telegram channel, Gorelkin claimed that the newspaper’s story was based on a preliminary draft of the bill (though the text was officially published the day before the bill was introduced in the State Duma). He insisted that the legislation doesn’t necessarily imply a ban on foreign gaming services.

At the same time, Gorelkin didn’t rule out that the new video game requirements could be used to block services like Steam and GOG. Instead, he reasoned that compliance with the requirements proposed in the legislation is theoretically feasible. “The bill gives game distributors as many as three options for verifying users, one of which is via phone numbers,” wrote Gorelkin. “And, as far as I know, all popular gaming services already allow users to link their accounts to phone numbers for security purposes.”

Gorelkin is correct when he says such authentication options are common in the industry. But foreign platforms aren’t saddled with Russian lawmakers’ proposed requirements for specific content labels, and some services don’t cooperate with the Russian authorities at all. (Though it’s important to note that Steam has deleted some game pages at the request of Russia’s federal censor to avoid being blocked in the country.)

Additionally, it’s unclear how this process would affect small foreign indie studios that sell their games in Russia. These developers often lack the resources even to translate their game pages on Steam into other languages. Whether the draft legislation would also automatically block these projects remains an open question.

Russia already has a voluntary game labeling system (and it doesn’t ban anything)

This isn’t the first time lawmakers have proposed content markers for video games. In February 2023, Alexander Malakhov, head of the Center for Strategic Research’s Digital Development division, suggested adding specific content labels to augment the age rating system introduced for video games in 2012.

In June 2024, the Association of Professionals in the Game Operation and Development Industry (APRIORI) announced that it was two years into developing a voluntary game labeling system in line with Alexander Malakhov’s proposal. In October, the system was launched as a pilot project. The next month, the organization said it had secured the support of several hundred game developers.

Speaking to Kommersant, APRIORI director Alexander Mikheev described the association’s pilot project and warned that the State Duma’s initiative is “premature.” In the same story, Lesta Games business development director Gaukhar Aldiyarova talked about participating in APRIORI’s voluntary labeling system and pointed out that State Duma deputies never even discussed their draft legislation with Russia’s video game industry.

Anton Nemkin, another lawmaker sponsoring the bill, told the state news agency RIA Novosti that Russia’s existing video game regulations are aimed exclusively at children (though it’s unclear which rating system he had in mind here). Nemkin argued that the proposed legislation would cover additional “vulnerable” demographics, such as senior citizens.

Representatives of the Russian Association of Game Developers have also criticized the legislation for its broadly restrictive character, vague wording, and mandatory authorization requirements. “Unfortunately, the current initiative sets us back several years,” the association said in a recent statement.