For many international developers Russia is considered to be an opportunity to grow their app or games business. According to the 2017 report on the 'Mobile Internet Economy in Russia [PDF]', Russia's population is young with 45% of people being under 35 years old.1 The report also found that mobile subscriptions are at 160% of the population of 146 million people, meaning people with data plans have more than one on average – considerably higher than other well connected countries.2 Last year Android accounted for 84% of all smartphones in Russia and smartphone shipments are still growing with demand up 11% in early 2017 compared to 2016.
Russian people are very engaged in terms of smartphone mobile usage, Russia is one of the top countries in terms of apps downloaded per person3. Half of the population are gamers; their favorite game genres being strategy, builders and farms, shooters, puzzles and fighters. The most popular app categories are dating (with strong local developers), music & video, social & messaging and shopping.4
Along with understanding Russian mobile trends, there are market specific best practices which can help you tailor your apps and games for a local audience to increase your chance of business success.
For more guidance, read the localization checklist.
On July 24st we launched the first Now in Russian collection on Google Play, featuring 24 titles from international developers such as Kabam's Transformers, GTarcade's Legacy of Discord, Yodo1's Crossy Road, im30's Last Empire - War Z and others.
We are planning to refresh the collection by the end of the year and we would love to include your title! Submit your recently localized title for a chance to be included.
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