Pixel P&L: Moscow Woos Indian Gaming Sector With Discounted Development Facilities

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 4 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

• Moscow Game Hub launches with costs three times lower than U.S. rates, targeting Indian and other emerging market developers.

• Valorant Mobile dominated China's 2025 launches, recording the highest DAU and revenue in its first month.

• UK studio releases 10,000 game assets as a human-made alternative to AI-generated content.

• Nvidia's RTX 5070 surpasses RTX 4070 in Steam rankings.

• German gaming companies show improved optimism for 2026, with 29% expecting industry growth.

Let's get into it.

Moscow Gaming Hub Courts Indian Developers With Cost Advantages

Moscow launched a comprehensive gaming development facility last week, targeting studios from emerging markets with infrastructure costs significantly below Western rates.

The Moscow Game Hub, unveiled during International Game Week, offers Indian developers production facilities at rates three times lower than U.S. equivalents and half European costs. The complex includes motion-capture studios, photogrammetry equipment, and sound recording facilities alongside coworking spaces and an esports arena.

More than 40 companies have already established residency, gaining access to preferential taxation terms and government grants. Indian industry executives from Whistling Woods International and Maharashtra's creative content association attended the November 28 launch, exploring animation outsourcing and co-development opportunities.

Representatives from China, Indonesia, UAE, and Latin American markets also participated in the four-day event. Moscow's Creative Industries Agency, which operates the hub, positions the facility as supporting the full development cycle from concept through international distribution. The initiative reflects Moscow's push to establish itself as an alternative development center for studios seeking cost-effective production infrastructure.

Valorant Mobile Dominates Chinese Launch Rankings, Tencent Reports

Valorant Mobile recorded China's strongest mobile game debut this year, achieving the highest daily active users and revenue in its first month among 2025 launches, Tencent disclosed in its latest financial report.

The August 19 release drove franchise-wide monthly active users above 50 million by October, more than doubling from July levels. The mobile launch also boosted the PC version, which hit record daily users and revenue in September following introduction of esports-themed weapons.

Tencent's third-quarter results showed broader portfolio strength. Honor of Kings reached 139 million daily active users during its October anniversary, while Delta Force surpassed 30 million daily users and ranked among the industry's top three titles by revenue. Investment holdings also performed strongly. Supercell's Clash Royale posted all-time highs in September engagement and revenue, with third-quarter receipts up over 400 percent year-over-year following major gameplay overhauls.

⚡️Quick Bytes

UK Studio Releases 10,000 Game Assets as AI Alternative

British developer Chequered Ink launched a $20 asset pack containing over 9,000 graphics and 700 sound effects, positioning it as a human-made alternative to AI-generated content. The collection covers platformers, RPGs, puzzle games and board games, with all assets available for unlimited commercial use without attribution requirements. A launch promotion offers 50 percent off the standard price. The two-person team cited AI's energy consumption and copyright concerns as motivation, noting popular models often train on copyrighted material without permission. Developers cannot resell unaltered assets but may freely modify and incorporate them into projects.

Nvidia's RTX 5070 Surpasses Previous Generation in Steam Rankings

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5070 captured 2.23 %of Steam users in November, overtaking the RTX 4070's 2.16% share and becoming the platform's most adopted RTX 50-series card, according to Steam's hardware survey. The month-over-month gain of 0.35% marked the largest increase among Nvidia's new generation offerings. The RTX 4060 laptop GPU retained the top position at 4.44%. Nvidia maintained 73.83 percent of Steam's discrete GPU market, while AMD and Intel held 18.05 percent and 7.74 percent respectively. 

German Gaming Companies Show Improved Outlook for 2026

Nearly a third of German games companies expect industry improvement in 2026, up from 17 percent in last year's survey, according to trade body Game. The poll found 29 percent anticipate positive industry direction, while 53 percent feel optimistic about their own businesses' performance, a modest increase year-over-year. However, only 32 percent plan new hiring, down from 41 percent in 2024. Game managing director Felix Falk attributed rising confidence to policy initiatives including increased federal funding and announced tax incentives, alongside strong performance at Gamescom 2025 following a difficult period for the sector.

⚔️Side Quest

🤣Laugh:

📺 Watch: A fun video where FranklyGaming ranks gaming's most devastating fictional plagues, from Fallout's Super Mutant-creating New Plague to Mass Effect's weaponized Genophage. Analyzing grotesque symptoms, societal collapse, and narrative impact, it covers supernatural afflictions like Elden Ring's Scarlet Rot and real player-driven pandemics like WoW's Corrupted Blood incident that required server quarantines. Essential gaming history exploration.

🎮 Play: LEGO Voyagers delivers a thoroughly charming two-player puzzle adventure with emotionally resonant music and wordless storytelling. Simple yet satisfying puzzles and creative building mechanics make it perfect for families or casual co-op. 

📚 Read: Third Point Ventures' Dan Moskowitz analyzes AI's economic impact across game development stages. Near-term: automation drives 10-30% cost savings in art, QA, and programming through tools like copilots and generative assets. Long-term: truly generative worlds remain cost-prohibitive until 2040s.

💡Did You Know

Monopoly Go! holds the record as the most expensive video game ever made, with costs driven almost entirely by its staggering $1 billion marketing budget. While AAA titles like Grand Theft Auto V famously spent $265 million combined on development and marketing, Scopely's mobile adaptation of the classic board game shattered all records through aggressive user acquisition campaigns. The massive investment paid off spectacularly. Monopoly Go! became one of the fastest mobile games to reach $1 billion in revenue

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