The global video game platform Steam is not prepared to abandon its russian users

International sanctions were designed to restrict direct transactions with russia and were thus intended to cut russian video game users off from the global market. However, a separate segment quickly emerged in russia, utilising third-party services and alternative mechanisms that continue to funnel russian roubles into the global gaming industry.

 

In the world of computer games, the online platform Steam is the undisputed leader. It is used by over 130 million people every month — it is the main global online store for PC games, accounting for around 75% of all digital sales of computer games.

 

The international financial sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine have had a significant impact on the russian segment of this market. The platform itself remained accessible to russians — they could log into their accounts, play games they had already purchased, and interact within communities — but they lost the ability to buy new games.

 

At the end of February 2022, the video game Elden Ring, one of the most anticipated releases of the year, was launched — and russian users discovered that the usual process for buying games on Steam had stopped working. When attempting to make a purchase, the system either does not accept payment or displays a message about restrictions.

 

The restrictions do not apply to a single release, but to the platform as a whole. Access to content remains, but the core function — purchasing — ceases to work.

 

Confused players begin sharing various tips: how to top up their wallet, how to change their account region, how to buy via other countries or intermediaries. Initially, these are isolated comments on forums, but they eventually evolve into ready-made solutions.

One of the basic workarounds from the outset was changing the account region via Kazakhstan. However, a VPN proved insufficient here, as Steam only changes the region after an actual payment has been made in another country’s currency. At that time, russians used the russian payment system QIWI: they topped up their account in roubles, converted it into Kazakhstani tenge, and made payments via Kazakhstan — as a result, Steam recognised them as Kazakhstani users.

A few months later, QIWI even simplified the process by adding direct payment to Steam without the need to manually create a tenge wallet. However, in February 2024, QIWI lost its banking licence and had to look for other options.

 

Around the same time, a method emerged that didn’t require banks at all. In video games, there are virtual items — costumes for characters, weapons, accessories. Gamers call them ‘skins’. They do not affect gameplay, but serve as status symbols — much like designer clothing or collectable trainers. Some cost thousands, whilst the rarest ones fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

This is the basis of the scheme: russian users buy skins for roubles on third-party marketplaces and resell them within Steam for the platform’s internal currency. The money goes into a virtual wallet — without banks, currency conversions or accounts in other countries. Such payments are not affected by sanctions against russians at all.

 

Steam, the platform that controls 75% of the global PC gaming market, has made no public statements regarding the war or sanctions. Unlike many international companies, Steam has not published official statements condemning the aggression nor announced its withdrawal from the russian market. Instead, its response has largely been limited to the technical implementation of restrictions dictated by the sanctions regime and the functioning of the payment infrastructure.

 

On the official Steam forum as early as March 2022, a moderator explained that certain payment methods remained available to russian users — notably via PayPal. But just a few days later, PayPal officially ceased operations in russia. After that, Steam remained accessible to russians, but without any working payment methods. It was precisely this niche that intermediaries began to fill.

 

Following the restrictions, a separate market has emerged for intermediaries who handle payments and provide russians with access to games. These are third-party platforms selling digital goods: games, keys, account top-ups and access services. Specialised marketplaces such as Plati.Market or FunPay are most commonly used.

 

According to web analytics, FunPay has around 28 million visits per month, whilst Plati.Market has around 9 million. FunPay positions itself as a player-to-player marketplace, where the main focus is on services and in-game assets: account levelling, currency, and ready-made accounts, whereas Plati.Market is a classic automated marketplace selling ready-made digital products, such as game activation keys, wallet top-up codes, and so on. Together, they cover different segments of the same market: from direct access to games to services that allow users to bypass restrictions. This is precisely why these platforms are mentioned in discussions as the main entry points for users.

Here, a russian user can buy practically everything they previously purchased directly on Steam, but now through a third party. These sites operate like ordinary marketplaces: there is a catalogue, a search function, seller ratings and reviews. The difference is that it is not physical goods that are sold, but access to games or the platform’s internal currency.

Analysis of documents and public registers shows that platforms serving the russian gaming market utilise an extensive network of legal entities across various countries. This allows them to accept international payments and circumvent financial restrictions imposed on direct transactions with russia. The main aim of this structure is to create the appearance of an international business so that Western banks and payment systems do not block transfers that are effectively supporting the russian gaming retail sector.

 

The main strategy involves regularly re-registering companies and changing jurisdictions — from Georgia and Kazakhstan to the UK and offshore zones in the Seychelles. This fluidity of registered addresses helps the platforms remain in a grey area.

 

Key figures in this structure are russian national Mikhail Marchenko, who is the founder of FunPay and owner of the trademark, and Natalia Yermolaeva — a Russian citizen who appears as a director or responsible person in the platform’s foreign branches. This model ensures a steady flow of funds from users around the world, despite the official withdrawal of international companies from the russian market.

FunPay’s history began on 21 August 2009 with the registration of the limited liability company Infoservice in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast. The company’s founder was Oleksandr Marchenko, and its director was Mykhailo Marchenko. This legal entity was wound up in January 2018. At the same time, back in July 2016, Mykhailo Marchenko registered as a sole trader. Following the liquidation of Infoservice, it was he who began to appear in the website’s public terms and conditions as the official party to the agreement with users.

 

Following the introduction of sweeping restrictions in 2022, the platform began to migrate to other jurisdictions. In Georgia, the company FunPay LLC was established, with russian citizen Natalia Yermolaeva becoming its director. For a time, this entity was officially responsible for the security of user data on the website.

 

In January 2023, 11 months after the start of the full-scale invasion, FunPay LLC (Kazakhstan) was registered in Astana. Mykhailo Marchenko once again became its beneficial owner and director. Although this company has an identical name, it is mentioned less frequently in the website’s public documents, which is typical of the creation of backup legal entities.

On 8 November 2023, FunPay LTD (number 15269354) was registered in the UK. Its official address became a PO box in Cardiff: PO Box 4385, 15269354 — Companies House Default Address, Cardiff, CF14 8LH.

 

It is worth explaining that the status of ‘Default Address’ is assigned compulsorily by the UK’s public registrar. This occurs when a company cannot confirm the existence of a real physical office at the specified address or provides inaccurate information. This is a clear indication that the firm was a fictitious ‘postbox’ with no actual presence in the country. In April 2025, this company was wound up.

 

Currently, the platform’s main legal entity is Hauptstrasse Holdings Inc., registered in the Seychelles. This is a classic offshore jurisdiction that allows the true owners of the business to be completely concealed. Natalia Yermolaeva remains the person responsible for handling user data within this Seychelles-based structure.

 

Unlike the network of intermediary companies used by FunPay, the Plati.market marketplace operates via direct registration in an offshore jurisdiction. This platform is registered in the Seychelles, which allows it to accept international payments. For the global financial system, transactions in favour of a Seychelles legal entity have no direct link to the russian jurisdiction, which makes it possible to circumvent banking restrictions on direct transfers to russia.

This model allows the platform to act as an intermediary in the sale of gaming goods and top-up services, which are officially restricted by publishers for the russian region. The company’s offshore status provides access to international payment services, through which payments from bank cards in various countries are processed.

 

Plati.market is owned by DigiCore Solutions LTD (registration number 247369), registered in the Seychelles at the following address: Suite 1, Second Floor, Sound & Vision House, Francis Rachel Str., Victoria, Mahe. This information is stated directly in the user agreement on the Plati.market website. Its offshore status allows the platform to process international payments via foreign payment services, operate outside the financial control of the russian federation, and maintain the anonymity of beneficiaries thanks to the closed registers of this jurisdiction.

 

To get a sense of the true scale of the shadow gaming market, it is worth looking at the sales figures for one of last year’s most successful releases — the video game Monster Hunter Wilds, which sold over 10 million copies in its first month alone.

 

According to reports from the analytical platform VG Insights, russians account for around 6.5% of sales in such projects. That is, russia accounts for approximately 650,000 copies of Monster Hunter Wilds at the base international price of $69.99 per copy — a total of $45.5 million. russian intermediaries received around $3.5 million from this sum, whilst Steam received $13.6 million (30% of total revenue).

 

However, financial gain is only one side of the coin. In March 2026, the video game Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes by the russian studio Cats Who Play appeared on Steam, offering users the chance to play as russian paratroopers during the battles for Gostomel in February–March 2022.

 

Despite widespread complaints from Ukrainians and the obvious distortion of reality, Steam’s response was minimal — the game was not removed, but merely made unavailable within Ukraine. For the rest of the world, including russia, the propaganda content remained accessible.

 

Source: NV