It's no secret that Russia is gradually looking to ditch as much Western technology as possible and develop its own, and its latest efforts seem to be related to video games. December 25 Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy: some information about the domestic game console being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, reports . The theoretical console will be equipped with an Elbrus processor and will run Aurora or Alt Linux – Russian versions of the popular Linux operating system.
According to TechSpotThe Elbrus processor was developed by the Moscow SPARC Technology Center and is primarily intended for defense, critical infrastructure and other applications. This processor doesn't match what Intel, AMD, and Arm are currently making, and it certainly won't reach the power levels of the PS5 or Xbox. Despite the weaker chipset, Gorelkin emphasized that the console is not intended for ports of old games, but will play “domestic video game products.” This likely means that Russia will also need its own developer community to develop these games.
There's another console in development called the Fog Play, but it's more of a cloud gaming device. Users of high-end computers can rent them out to Fog Play owners, who will play games on those computers via the cloud.
These potential consoles are just one aspect of Russia's broader plans for technological sovereignty. Since the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions, Russia has been trying to make this a reality, but makes it difficult.
The introduction of Astra Linux into government, intelligence, military and even educational computers is yet another attempt by Russia to develop its own technology. To this end, Russia is also trying to replace the file and website scanner VirusTotal (owned by Google) with its own Multiscanner platform, fearing US government infiltration.
Despite this progress, Russia remains heavily dependent on Chinese technology. Chinese smartphones, Chinese electronics and dual-use technologies are popular there. even like the Celestial Empire them in the USA.
Russia likely won't be able to achieve true technological independence in video games or other important areas because it relies too heavily on China and lacks the ability to produce PS5 or Xbox-level chips. Two Russian gaming consoles provide a good example of the problems the country faces given its poor relations with many of the world's superpowers. Just as the Elbrus processor is not going to truly compete with the best consoles, Russia will most likely continue to fight for technological sovereignty.