Bloko Sphere: which games are replacing Roblox in Russia
Users in Russia are mastering Roblox analogues, sandbox games where they can implement a variety of design and creative solutions, creating full—fledged interactive worlds inside. All of them couldn't compete with the super-successful franchise before Roblox was banned, but now they have a chance to make themselves known. Izvestia found out what gamers are now willing to spend money on and which of these games are worthy of the most attention and, from the point of view of Roskomnadzor, are completely safe for users.
What happened to Roblox
The Roblox game from two developers, David Basutsky and Eric Cassel, has become a global phenomenon — millions of players around the world, a huge number of scandals and a complete ban in China, Turkey, Vietnam, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and other countries.
On December 3, Russia was added to this list — Roskomnadzor officially announced the blocking of the game in the country due to systematic violations of our legislation. David and Eric from Roblox Corporation, who have long become billionaires, hastened to make a statement that they are working to eliminate illegal content and comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation.
However, the game remained blocked. One of the key reasons cited by the RCN is the poor protection of children from virtual pedophiles, insufficient monitoring of in—game activities, and an abundance of LGBT content (the LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). As stated in the RCN, conditions and prerequisites for illegal actions are being created on the platform. A recent vivid example is the murder of a mother by her 13—year-old daughter, who had been publicly rehearsing this scenario for a long time in Roblox. As a result, the girl set fire to the apartment to conceal the murder, but later confessed to everything.
Which services are popular among Russians
Izvestia has collected seven Roblox analogues that do not violate anything and are unlikely to be blocked in the foreseeable future. The largest player in this field is Minecraft.
Minecraft is a flexible sandbox where the player chooses the style of play: explore the world, build, survive or create complex mechanisms. The game develops creativity, planning and logic, allows you to experiment without restrictions. Thanks to the open world and the multitude of biomes, each passage turns out to be unique. Multiplayer makes the project social — you can play with friends, create common bases and participate in joint adventures. With mods and endless custom maps, the game is almost never boring.
According to Ilya Tselikov, MTS Cloud Gaming Director, the number of MTS Fog Play users has increased 3.5 times compared to last year, to 500,000 active users per month. And Minecraft remains one of the main projects.
The next hit is Garry's Mod, a fully open sandbox in which the player can build levels, experiment with physics, create skits or complete game modes. The game develops creativity, allows you to quickly test ideas and teaches you how to work with logic and physics-based mechanisms.
With a huge number of add—ons and mods, the possibilities are almost endless - from realistic tools to whole new worlds. In multiplayer, you can also play with friends, arrange role-playing games, participate in user modes and build joint projects. Garry's Mod remains relevant thanks to the community that constantly creates content and keeps the game alive.
Terraria also shines. This is a two-dimensional adventure sandbox, where exploration, resource extraction and progress are presented especially vividly. The game combines creative freedom with structured development: each new biome, item, and boss opens up new possibilities.
A variety of weapons, armor, and equipment allows you to customize the style of play to suit yourself, and a well-thought-out crafting system encourages experimentation. Procedurally generated worlds make each passage unique. In co—op, the game becomes even more dynamic - you can build bases, fight bosses together, and share roles in a group. Thanks to constant updates and a large number of mods, the project has remained relevant for many years.
Blockland is an independent sandbox with an emphasis on free construction of virtual blocks resembling a physical constructor. Players create buildings, cities, mechanisms, and entire game modes using thousands of parts and built-in tools. The project focuses on creativity and multiplayer: users can build together, launch their own mini-games and modify servers. Despite the minimalistic graphics and age (the game was released back in 2007), Blockland has become a cult among fans of design-oriented games due to the almost unlimited freedom and long life of the fan community.
Domestic Roblox analogues
First of all, Sumo Tatami stands out among the Russian analogues of Roblox. The game is equipped with a designer for creating characters and levels, allowing you to implement a variety of creative scenarios. The key feature of the game is spherical characters that roll around locations like bowling balls. The authors themselves call the gameplay an "unpredictable sumo action game."
Another example was Trove, which was developed by an international team with the involvement of Russians. This is a vibrant voxel MMO sandbox where the player combines exploration, character leveling, and building their own worlds. The game gives you a lot of freedom: you can go through dungeons, collect rare loot, develop various classes or create your own buildings in a personal "club" world. Thanks to the procedural generation, every hike feels fresh.
The final game of the collection is Bloksels, an educational constructor for three—dimensional games. It is intended primarily for schoolchildren, and allows them to learn programming and 3D modeling in a playful way. The project has a TikTok-like feed of games from the community, so it's not necessary to create them yourself. It works on any smartphone and has secured support from a number of major Russian IT companies, including Softline Group of Companies. Together, they developed the project's mission: to help children from consumers become creators and free themselves from their power through the knowledge of technology.
Trends for games in the Russian Federation
Izvestia also studied the main trends among Russian video game enthusiasts — in 2025, the volume of digital subscriptions that people purchased on the sites of M.Video". In two years, about 10% of console players migrated from virtual Poland to virtual Turkey, due to pricing and other factors. In total, 85% of all purchases in the digital segment of video games came from PlayStation replenishment cards. This brand has remained popular, despite leaving the Russian Federation in 2022, while the number of sales of PS4 and PS5 games is gradually growing. Minecraft and Terraria hold the leading positions among the main PS4 hits.
As for the traditional PC market for Russians, according to MTS Payments, in the first nine months of 2025, the number of gaming payments increased by 54% compared to the same period last year, and the number of users who spend money on gaming increased by 32%. They most often pay for Steam, PlayStation, and Minecraft.
When paying with Steam, direct replenishment of accounts in Russia and CIS countries remains the most popular method, with a 43% increase over the year. And if we talk about vouchers, there are significant changes in the regions. American accounts are still the most popular, but their share has plummeted. In the first nine months of 2024, they accounted for 91% of voucher purchases, while in 2025 they accounted for only 38%. The share of Turkish accounts increased to 26%, and European accounts to 22%.
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