14 DAY TRIAL // Russia is perhaps one of the biggest markets of games in the world, but, unfortunately, the high piracy rate is scaring off developers and publishers, which choose not to launch their products there, or to delay their arrival in the European country.
Up until recently, quite a lot of gaming companies denied making localized versions of games, in the native language because Russian voice actors were very expensive and the investment never paid off. Now, slowly but surely, it seems that more and more companies are starting to look at Russia with kind eyes and clearly see the potential of this very big market.
Blizzard already launched a localized version of its extremely popular World of Warcraft MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), in an effort to gain even more users from this country. Now, Codemasters has just announced that versions of the company's upcoming games, like Rise of the Argonauts, Damnation or Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, will be localized for the Russian market.
"Considering the scale and enthusiasm of the Russian market for our upcoming titles, especially Operation Flashpoint, we recognised that offering a dedicated Russian-language support was the next important step for Codemasters" said Hal Bame, director, Distributor Territories, Codemasters. "We’re looking forward to providing an even more accessible game-play experience to future players of our key titles."
Definitely big words, which are aimed at solidifying the company's position in the Russian market and to get customers to buy its upcoming games. While this might seem like a gamble for Codemasters, considering the vast number of potential customers, it looks like it will pay off.
Let's just hope that Codemasters won't stop at offering just Russian versions of its games and that it will continue making more and more localized games.