The founders of the Russian Video Game Association (RVI) have completed the selection stage and formed a shortlist of candidates. Now it’s time for the popular vote — any user can participate and cast their vote through the official RVI apps on Telegram and VKontakte.

After the voting ends, the organization will tally the results and announce the winners. Upon completion of the voting, the organizers will present the results and announce the winners on the stage of the pop-culture festival Comic Con Igromir, which will be held at the “Timiryazev Center”.

Not familiar with the Hall of Fame?

The project was founded by RVI in 2023 with the aim of immortalising the achievements of Russian developers, journalists and entrepreneurs who have had the greatest impact on the industry. Over previous years the Hall of Fame already includes such landmark projects as Tetris, Cosmic Rangers, Atomic Heart, Truckers 2, Heroes of Might and Magic V and Allods Online. In the “People who influenced the industry” category legendary personalities have been recognised: Alexey Pajitnov, Sergey Orlovsky, Andrey Kuzmin, Dendy founder Viktor Savyuk, TV-hosts and journalists Sergey Suponyev, Boris Repetur and Anton Zaytsev, as well as many other figures who contributed to the development of domestic gamedev.

How does the selection of winners take place?

The participant selection process consists of several stages. First the video-game community together with more than 300 RVI experts compile a broad list of candidates — games, individuals and esports players worthy of inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Then the RVI founders carefully review the proposed options and form the list of candidates that proceed to the final voting stage. After that anyone can support their favourites by voting via the official RVI apps on Telegram and VKontakte. This year the popular vote will run from 5 November to 5 December. As per tradition, three nominations are presented in the vote: “Legendary Video Games”, “People Who Influenced the Industry” and “Legends of Esports”.

Who are nominated in 2025?

In the “Legendary Video Games” category: IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles; Escape From Tarkov; Cut the Rope; Mor (Utopia); Allods: Seal of Mystery; Prince: Legends of the Forest Country. In “People Who Influenced the Industry” category: Homescapes, Gardenscapes and Fishdom developers Dmitry and Igor Bukhman; Gaijin Entertainment founders Anton and Kirill Yudintsev (creators of War Thunder and Crossout); writer, game-designer and former 1C Game Studios producer Sergey Burkatovsky (who influenced the formation of World of Tanks); IL-2 Sturmovik creator Oleg Medoks. Among the “Legends of Esports” nominees: Denis “electroNic” Sharipov; Dmitry “Happy” Kostin; Anton “Coollerz” Singov; Roman “RAMZES” Kushnarev; Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov; president of the Russian Computer Sports Federation Dmitry Smit; one of the first Russian esports players Alexander Gorbanchenko.

About RVI:

The association comprises around 300 experts and industry representatives — from developers and publishers to streamers and lawyers. The organisation’s goal is to develop the video-game industry by supporting significant projects and useful initiatives, their promotion and discussion. RVI facilitates the creation of a positive image of gamedev and gaming culture in society, as well as the coordination of interaction between investors, publishers, educational and scientific communities and corporations.

Today everyone has a chance to influence history — just vote and support your favourite developers, games and esports players!