Shanghai and Moscow rank among top global gaming hubs

A new ranking of international video game industry hubs released by consultancy Yakov and Partners identifies Abu Dhabi’s AD Gaming Hub as the world leader. Shanghai’s Xuhui District secured second place with a score of 2.48, while the Moscow Game Hub tied for third with Sweden’s Game Habitat, scoring 2.18.

The Moscow Game Hub received a perfect score of 3 for its infrastructure, which includes a 55,000 square meter facility equipped with a 60-camera motion-capture studio, photogrammetry labs, sound-recording studios, and a data center. The hub currently hosts 74 resident companies, including 61 game studios and 13 animation studios, which are developing over 260 projects.

In terms of studio support, Moscow and Shanghai tied for second place. Moscow offers preferential office rents and an accelerator program where participants can access coworking spaces for one ruble per month. Additionally, the Moscow Video Game Export program assisted local studios in signing 36 export contracts worth over 12 million USD in 2025.

The rankings were presented during the second Moscow International Game Week. According to the Agency of Creative Industries, the global video game market reached a record 202.5 billion USD in 2025, a 14% increase from the previous year.