Details Unveiled for Putin’s ‘Sovereign’ Gaming Consoles: One Boasts a Homegrown Elbrus CPU, the Other a Chinese Imitation — Russian Government Concedes Inability to Rival PS5 or Xbox

When diving into the concept of sovereign computing, it’s clear that efforts often encounter significant hurdles, such as scarce resources or the temptation to mimic existing products, undercutting their independence. Back in the spring, President Putin tasked the government with creating a truly Russian gaming console. The industry, it seems, is pursuing two distinct paths. As reported by Habr.com, one avenue involves crafting a console using a domestically-produced Elbrus processor. Meanwhile, RBC has noticed an attempt to develop a cloud gaming platform using affordable consumer hardware, branding it sovereign in nature.

The Elbrus processor, which serves as the foundation for Russia’s gaming console project, employs a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) microarchitecture. This design was initially intended for robust, mission-critical applications. However, when it comes to gaming performance, Elbrus falls short. Various benchmarks have labeled its capabilities as inadequate for the majority of tasks.

Expectations for this console attaining similar performance levels as the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S are low. Russian officials are therefore urging developers to think outside the box to address these performance shortfalls. Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, expressed his hope that developers approach this with innovation. “Everyone knows,” he wrote, “Elbrus processors aren’t yet on par with the PS5 and Xbox. We need a unique solution.”

This innovative solution might mean simplifying games so Elbrus CPUs can manage them, though such stripped-down versions may not appeal to those Russian gamers who still enjoy top-tier gaming experiences. Alternatively, it could involve using cloud-based rendering and computing, requiring gamers to have excellent broadband connections with minimal delay for smooth gameplay.

Interestingly, Gorelkin also pointed out that this new console shouldn’t just serve as a platform for existing titles but should also help promote Russian-made games.

Switching gears to the cloud gaming arena, MTS, a well-known Russian telecom giant, is also developing a console. Not shy about its cloud dependency, MTS has coined it the MTS Fog Play platform.

This device pairs basic hardware with an Xbox-style controller and retails for about $50. Given this price point, it’s not realistic to expect the console to handle even basic Android games independently. Instead, it will rely on the MTS Fog Play cloud service. This service supports both remote and rental gaming, allowing those with higher-end PCs to rent and play games using their own equipment.

As of now, neither of these console projects has hit the market, but we’ll be eager to see how they perform once they’re released. We’ll keep you updated with any benchmarking results as they become available.