Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images)

Russian gamers were not introduced to piracy by the backlash to their country's invasion of Ukraine—far from it. But piracy is ramping up, and it likely won't back down any time soon.

That's the takeaway from a survey by Russian game development training platform School XYZ , covering the whole country and all game formats. Sixty-nine percent of gamers surveyed said they'd played at least one pirated game copy in 2022, while 51 percent said they're pirating more games now than they did in 2021.

Piracy as a whole may be up, but enthusiasm and motivations differ somewhat. Roughly 20 percent of those surveyed said they had pirated more than 10 games, and 27 percent had grabbed at least three in 2022. But 31 percent said they had pirated nothing, and nearly the same responded that they were opposed to piracy. And only 7 percent said they had not purchased anything through official channels, suggesting that 93 percent of surveyed Russian gamers, even admitted pirates, had bought at least something last year.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images)

Russian gamers were not introduced to piracy by the backlash to their country's invasion of Ukraine—far from it. But piracy is ramping up, and it likely won't back down any time soon.

That's the takeaway from a survey by Russian game development training platform School XYZ , covering the whole country and all game formats. Sixty-nine percent of gamers surveyed said they'd played at least one pirated game copy in 2022, while 51 percent said they're pirating more games now than they did in 2021.

Piracy as a whole may be up, but enthusiasm and motivations differ somewhat. Roughly 20 percent of those surveyed said they had pirated more than 10 games, and 27 percent had grabbed at least three in 2022. But 31 percent said they had pirated nothing, and nearly the same responded that they were opposed to piracy. And only 7 percent said they had not purchased anything through official channels, suggesting that 93 percent of surveyed Russian gamers, even admitted pirates, had bought at least something last year.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images)

Russian gamers were not introduced to piracy by the backlash to their country's invasion of Ukraine—far from it. But piracy is ramping up, and it likely won't back down any time soon.

That's the takeaway from a survey by Russian game development training platform School XYZ , covering the whole country and all game formats. Sixty-nine percent of gamers surveyed said they'd played at least one pirated game copy in 2022, while 51 percent said they're pirating more games now than they did in 2021.

Piracy as a whole may be up, but enthusiasm and motivations differ somewhat. Roughly 20 percent of those surveyed said they had pirated more than 10 games, and 27 percent had grabbed at least three in 2022. But 31 percent said they had pirated nothing, and nearly the same responded that they were opposed to piracy. And only 7 percent said they had not purchased anything through official channels, suggesting that 93 percent of surveyed Russian gamers, even admitted pirates, had bought at least something last year.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Mazda)

The fifth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata may well be a battery-electric vehicle. Motortrend reports that the Japanese automaker, builder of one of the Internet's most beloved vehicles, has decided the next version will be electrified, although it's still deciding to what extent. Mazda is on the way to electrifying its entire product range by 2030, but the next MX-5 is due sooner than that and should be in showrooms in 2025.

Since 1989, the MX-5 has reminded drivers worldwide that you don't need masses of power and torque to enjoy driving. Across four generations of cars, the recipe has remained constant: two seats, with an engine in the front driving the wheels at the back—preferably via a manual gearbox. Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.

As the former owner of a first-gen (aka NA) Miata, I am always amazed upon driving a new one (currently the ND or fourth-gen) to find that Mazda's engineers have kept the ride and handling so similar. Wheels and brakes have gotten larger, and the gearbox has added an extra forward ratio, but the only unfamiliar bit to someone from 20 or 30 years ago would be the infotainment screen, which now brings the welcome addition of CarPlay.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Mazda)

The fifth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata may well be a battery-electric vehicle. Motortrend reports that the Japanese automaker, builder of one of the Internet's most beloved vehicles, has decided the next version will be electrified, although it's still deciding to what extent. Mazda is on the way to electrifying its entire product range by 2030, but the next MX-5 is due sooner than that and should be in showrooms in 2025.

Since 1989, the MX-5 has reminded drivers worldwide that you don't need masses of power and torque to enjoy driving. Across four generations of cars, the recipe has remained constant: two seats, with an engine in the front driving the wheels at the back—preferably via a manual gearbox. Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.

As the former owner of a first-gen (aka NA) Miata, I am always amazed upon driving a new one (currently the ND or fourth-gen) to find that Mazda's engineers have kept the ride and handling so similar. Wheels and brakes have gotten larger, and the gearbox has added an extra forward ratio, but the only unfamiliar bit to someone from 20 or 30 years ago would be the infotainment screen, which now brings the welcome addition of CarPlay.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Mazda)

The fifth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata may well be a battery-electric vehicle. Motortrend reports that the Japanese automaker, builder of one of the Internet's most beloved vehicles, has decided the next version will be electrified, although it's still deciding to what extent. Mazda is on the way to electrifying its entire product range by 2030, but the next MX-5 is due sooner than that and should be in showrooms in 2025.

Since 1989, the MX-5 has reminded drivers worldwide that you don't need masses of power and torque to enjoy driving. Across four generations of cars, the recipe has remained constant: two seats, with an engine in the front driving the wheels at the back—preferably via a manual gearbox. Low mass has always been a Miata virtue, endowing the car with not just precise handling but also an abstemious appetite for tires and fuel.

As the former owner of a first-gen (aka NA) Miata, I am always amazed upon driving a new one (currently the ND or fourth-gen) to find that Mazda's engineers have kept the ride and handling so similar. Wheels and brakes have gotten larger, and the gearbox has added an extra forward ratio, but the only unfamiliar bit to someone from 20 or 30 years ago would be the infotainment screen, which now brings the welcome addition of CarPlay.

Enlarge / (From L) Plaintiffs Damla Karsan, Austin Dennard, Samantha Casiano, Taylor Edwards, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane and Amanda Zurawski attend a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on July 20, 2023. (credit: Getty | SUZANNE CORDEIRO )

Deaths of babies born in Texas increased 11.5 percent in 2022, the year after the state banned abortion after six weeks, a period before most women know they are pregnant.

In 2022, some 2,200 infants died, according to data obtained by CNN through a public information request . That is 227 more deaths than the state saw in the previous year, before the restrictive law went into effect.

Infant deaths due to severe genetic and birth defects rose 21.6 percent.

Enlarge / (From L) Plaintiffs Damla Karsan, Austin Dennard, Samantha Casiano, Taylor Edwards, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane and Amanda Zurawski attend a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on July 20, 2023. (credit: Getty | SUZANNE CORDEIRO )

Deaths of babies born in Texas increased 11.5 percent in 2022, the year after the state banned abortion after six weeks, a period before most women know they are pregnant.

In 2022, some 2,200 infants died, according to data obtained by CNN through a public information request . That is 227 more deaths than the state saw in the previous year, before the restrictive law went into effect.

Infant deaths due to severe genetic and birth defects rose 21.6 percent.

Enlarge / (From L) Plaintiffs Damla Karsan, Austin Dennard, Samantha Casiano, Taylor Edwards, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane and Amanda Zurawski attend a press conference outside the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on July 20, 2023. (credit: Getty | SUZANNE CORDEIRO )

Deaths of babies born in Texas increased 11.5 percent in 2022, the year after the state banned abortion after six weeks, a period before most women know they are pregnant.

In 2022, some 2,200 infants died, according to data obtained by CNN through a public information request . That is 227 more deaths than the state saw in the previous year, before the restrictive law went into effect.

Infant deaths due to severe genetic and birth defects rose 21.6 percent.