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Video games must educate people, foster true patriotism, Putin believes

The Russian leader agreed with the idea that video games "must be a mix of art and education"

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Video games are a colossal business that must help educate people and foster universal human values and true patriotism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of the "Russia - a country of opportunities" non-profit observation council Tuesday.

"The game, the thing that you are doing is not a toy business," Putin told Anna Kozlova, game designer and a laureate of the ‘Start the game’ national competition, who delivered a report on the video game industry. "It is a colossal business, a multi-billion dollar one."

However, the president continued, "money is not the most important thing" in this area; Putin agreed with the idea that video games "must be a mix of art and education."

"A game must help a person develop, help them find their place. It must help a person grow, both within the framework of universal human values, and patriotism - in the best sense of this word - not a fake one, but a thorough one, a wide one from a humanitarian standpoint," the head of state believes.

Putin also agreed to Kozlova’s proposal to hold the second iteration of the ‘Start the game’ competition (which unites game developers, designers and everyone willing to start a career in video game development) within the 'Games of the Future' international tournament, which will take place next February in Kazan.