Putin’s ‘Sovereign’ Gaming Console Plans Unveiled: One Featuring Elbrus CPU, the Other a Chinese Replica — Russian Government Concedes They Can’t Rival PS5 or Xbox

In the ever-evolving realm of technology, sovereign computing presents unique challenges, often faltering due to limited resources or straying into the realm of imitation, losing its original essence. Earlier this year, Putin’s directive to create a Russian game console led the country on an intriguing dual path. On one hand, there’s an endeavor to craft a homegrown console powered by the Elbrus processor, as reported by Habr.com. On the other, a cloud gaming service built on inexpensive consumer hardware, masquerading as sovereign as noted by RBC.

Russia’s new gaming console concept centers around the Elbrus processor, renowned for its Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microarchitecture. While it’s theoretically suited for high-stakes, critical tasks, in reality, its performance is underwhelming according to widespread benchmark results. In fact, as one might observe, there’s not much to brag about here.

In the words of Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, “It is obvious to everyone: Elbrus processors [cannot] compete equally.” This fuels the search for an innovative solution, given the new console won’t rival the likes of PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S in terms of sheer power. The challenge lies in creating something distinctive enough to offset these limitations.

Gorelkin has high hopes, urging developers to come up with groundbreaking ideas. The Elbrus processors aren’t on par with PS5 or Xbox, but with the right mindset, a creative workaround could be the answer. Options on the table might include developing simplified games to match the Elbrus capabilities—a hard sell given Russian gamers’ access to high-quality titles—or integrating cloud rendering to ensure smooth gameplay. The latter, however, depends heavily on flawless broadband connectivity.

Furthermore, Gorelkin points out that this console should go beyond housing old favorites, aiming instead to spotlight Russian video game development.

Switching gears to cloud gaming, MTS, a major Russian telecom firm, is setting its sights on a cloud-based console called the MTS Fog Play platform. With a price tag of just $50 and armed with a controller reminiscent of the Xbox, this device leans significantly on cloud computing. Its modest hardware can’t run much beyond the simplest Android games independently, so it taps into MTS’s cloud service for both remote and rental gaming. This setup allows gamers to either stream titles or rent games while utilizing their existing high-performance PCs.

As of now, these consoles are still in the pipeline, but rest assured we’ll be watching closely for performance metrics once they hit the market.