Seven Gaming Majors in Moscow's Crosshairs: The Sanctions Figures are Absurd, but the Final Plan is Not

Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal agency that supervises and controls communications, information technology, and mass media, has fined Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Battlestate Games, and NetEase Interactive 2 million rubles each (about 23 thousand euros at the current exchange rate) for failing to store the personal data of their Russian users on domestic servers, as stipulated by Article 13.11 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. For companies that generate billions in revenue, this amount probably goes unnoticed in quarterly reports.

The contrast with the strategy used against Google is glaring. As reported here, in 2024 Russian courts had ordered the Mountain View giant to pay a record amount for blocking pro-Kremlin channels on YouTube. The sum was impossible to pay, exceeding the total wealth of the planet. The outcome of that strategy was, predictably, zero: Google operates in Russia through a subsidiary declared bankrupt in 2022 and has not paid a ruble. The symbolic sanctions imposed on game publishers seem to be an implicit recognition that astronomical figures do not work as leverage.

Seven Companies in the Crosshairs

According to the law firm Semenov & Pevzner, which provided statements to the newspaper Kommersant, since the beginning of 2026 Roskomnadzor has initiated administrative lawsuits against seven gaming majors. In addition to the four already fined, Embracer Group (Metro, Kingdom Come: Deliverance), Epic Games (Fortnite), and Digital Extremes (Warframe) are still awaiting judgment. The maximum fine remains set at just over 68 thousand euros even if the judge applies the maximum allowed by law to all three pending cases.

In December 2025, Lesta, the Russian studio of World of Tanks that became state-owned after splitting from Wargaming, had only received a warning; in March 2026, it was Battlestate Games, followed in April by the two Western majors EA and Take-Two.

Data Localization and "Digital Sovereignty"

The contested regulation requires online service operators to register, systematize, accumulate, and update the personal data of Russian citizens exclusively on infrastructures physically located in Russia, but none of the seven companies appears to be compliant. However, Roskomnadzor clarified that there are currently no legal grounds to block the games of the fined companies and that such a scenario is not on the table.

The regulatory framework is part of a broader strategy. A recent bill has been presented to the State Duma that would subject the distribution of video games in Russia to state approval, with a mechanism similar to the ISBN licensing system currently in place in China. The bill explicitly mentions the need to protect "the morality, rights, and legitimate interests of citizens." Meanwhile, in 2025, a modification to the Administrative Code was already prepared to sanction games with content defined as "anti-Russian." According to a source cited by Kommersant, the ongoing lawsuits would only be the prologue to a more structured intervention in the market for foreign online games: a move that, not coincidentally, would benefit domestic developers supported by state funds allocated by Putin starting in 2022.