The dynamics of computer clubs, leading RIA Novosti Regarding the Association for the Development of Esports Infrastructure, it is impressive: at the end of 2024, there were 3,100 facilities in Russia, and in 12 months there were almost a thousand more. On the monetary side, the results were more modest, but they were there too: the market grew by 15%, to 30 billion rubles. This is the national average. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, the revenue of computer clubs increased by 11%, which is also very impressive – especially considering the fact that in large cities almost every family has a computer, or even more than one.
That means you can play at home. However, some still choose clubs for this. Konstantin Sakhnov, CEO Games for Gamers, talks about who these people are:
Konstantin Sakhnov, CEO Games for Gamers: “The main target is young people, from 18 to 25 years old. They come mainly for the atmosphere. They come to spend time together, to chat, to feel the pleasant atmosphere of the club, where there can be some drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails and some other additional entertainment. They spend quite a lot of time there, because these people, and these people are students or alumni, there is still time and the cost of such entertainment is not much high. There is also a second group, from 35-40 years old, but less because they are family people and they can come just to spend time with friends, because they can get the same thing at home on the computer or on the couch.
Today's computer clubs are not a gloomy basement in which there are rows of computers and nothing else, but this is how the clubs of the early 2000s looked. These are large screens, interesting interiors, a minibar with soft drinks, etc. In general, everything is for cultural entertainment.
But modern computer clubs may not appeal to everyone, especially if they remember what it was like a quarter of a century ago. Business FM columnist Ivan Medvedev shares his experience:
Ivan Medvedev, Business FM columnist: “At one time I was not very surprised by the growing popularity of computer clubs, but the fact is that they still exist. When I found one of these clubs not far from home, my forty-year-old friend and I and my two eight- and ten-year-old sons decided to go there to play. We were met with terrible disappointment, because we had probably never experienced such humiliation with him That: it starts with administrators having to find the version of that game.” Counter-Strike we used to play somewhere and installed separately, and ended up when we finally tried to play Counter-Strike 2, which can't be called a game, I was having fun and enjoying it, but my friend left there very sad and said that for the next hour maybe it's better that we don't talk at all.
Are computer clubs interesting from a business perspective? Probably not, because now it is very difficult to make money from this. It is true that the investment scale is not large. Sergei Koshkin, director of Moscow's oldest computer club Flashback, continues:
Sergei Koshkin, director of the Moscow computer club Flashback: “The entry threshold depends on the number of computers and open places. I think a pretty average club, for 40 computers, you cannot open it without 5 million rubles. There will be no payback at all, because if you do not have a constant flow of people willing to pay 200 rubles per hour, and hardly anyone can keep such a turnover, then after three years you will have to upgrade your computer. By the way, 5 million is before the price increase. So you can safely turn 5 million into 7 million or even 10 million, because there is such a jump in components. Nowadays, you can't even buy half a good gaming computer for a thousand dollars.”
If the prices of PC components, especially RAM and video cards, continue to increase, the number of visitors to computer clubs as well as the profits of this business may increase. People will start going there again just to play. Because it will be cheaper than buying a PC for the family to handle new toys that require hardware.
