How to buy games in Russia: 7 services

1. Steam

Buying the game on Steam directly while in Russia will not work, but you can do it in an alternative way. You need to replenish your wallet in your account, and then purchase the game with this money. The safest way to act is through the Qiwi service or through the sale of accumulated game items.

By replenishing the wallet, it will not be possible to buy all the games. Some companies have stopped selling their projects to Russia, access to them is closed as usual. Therefore, for the sake of such products, you will have to register again through VPN or use other stores, which we will consider below.

To transfer funds via Qiwi, you need to register in this service and open a wallet. But keep in mind that to create an account, you will have to enter a phone number, passport details and TIN.

Initially, you get a ruble account, but in addition you need to open a wallet for another currency - tenge. This can be done through the menu in the account by clicking on the "Open a new account" button. Next, assign it as the main one in the "Account Management" section.

Top up the balance on Qiwi in any way available to you, for example bank card. When transferring money, select the tenge currency. Next, enter the name Steam in the search for services and find "Steam (Kazakhstan)". Fill in all the data, indicating the login and the desired amount. After confirming the transfer via SMS, the funds should be in your Steam wallet within a minute. It remains only to buy the necessary game, using this money.

If you've been an active Steam user for many years, you may have accumulated a lot of items. Put them up for sale on the trading platform, the proceeds will be on your balance in your account. You can also buy and resell skins and other virtual things through third-party services, but this is not safe - money can be lost, there is a risk of running into scammers.

Steam →

2. steampay

This is one of the popular stores where you can purchase digital keys for PC games to activate them on Steam, Uplay, Battle.net and other sites. The catalog contains projects of most common genres. Here you can find both recognized titles of past years and new ones.

Games appear in Steampay that were officially withdrawn from sale in Russia. You can pay by credit card and through fast payment system.

steampay →

3. Buka Shop

Another store with digital goods was opened by the Russian company Buka. Here you can purchase digital codes for PC games, as well as discs for consoles, Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, replenish wallets in the PlayStation Store and Steam. On this site, you can buy games that are not officially sold in Russia.

Buka Shop →

4. Videogame.net

Russian store of consoles and games for them. There are a large number of projects for PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch. You can also purchase the consoles themselves and accessories. There are a lot of classics and new products in the Videoigr.net selection, but not all of them can be bought on the day of release - you have to wait a while.

videogame.net →

5. Gabe Store

Gabe Store sells digital keys for PC games. In a large catalog, you can find almost all popular and recognized projects, as well as hundreds of new products. The store offers discounts and periodically holds sales, just like on Steam. Russian bank cards are suitable for payment.

Gabe Store →

6. GamersBase

This site is similar to those listed above. GamersBase's catalog of PC games is still inferior to large stores, but new items appear here, there are discounts. Keys for Steam can be purchased using Russian payment services.

The GamersBase catalog is also available at bank application Tinkoff. You can purchase activation keys in it, if this option seems more convenient to you. To purchase, you need to go to the main section with services "City", then select "Products" → "Games". In the search, enter the name of the project you are interested in and buy it if it appears in the list. After successful completion of the operation, copy the opened key and enter it into Steam, adding the project to your library.

GamersBase →

7. Plati.ru

A platform with a huge catalog of various services related to the purchase of games, and popular gaming services. Here you can purchase keys to activate projects for PC and versions for consoles, replenish account wallets and even get foreign accounts on Steam, EA Play, PlayStation and Xbox already added there games.

Plati.ru can be a very useful option for you, but this is an open marketplace, so there are sometimes scammers. Carefully study the overall seller rating and customer reviews before transferring your money to someone.

Plati.ru →