Kazakhstan Investigates $530 Million Game Project for Non-Compliance

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Science and Higher Education has initiated investigations into a controversial children's computer game project, "Steppe Rider," which was allocated nearly 242 million tenge (approximately $530,000 USD). The ministry is collaborating with the National Security Committee's anti-corruption service and the Department of Economic Investigations for the city of Astana to scrutinize the project's outcome.

Minister Sayasat Nurbek confirmed that the ministry itself requested these investigations, indicating a proactive approach to addressing potential irregularities. While decisions are expected to be announced later through court proceedings or administrative actions, the minister did not directly confirm whether the department was satisfied with the final product or if it met the original technical specifications. The outcome of the investigation will determine the next steps, which could involve legal or administrative measures.

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Regarding this matter, we have submitted requests for investigations to the National Security Committee's anti-corruption service and the Department of Economic Investigations for the city of Astana. We initiated this ourselves.

The project's technical requirements, outlined in a tender announced in March 2025, specified the development of an educational game in the turn-based strategy or RPG genre. The game was intended to feature a plot, dialogue, missions, diverse locations, and a progression system specifically designed for learning the Kazakh language. However, upon its release in December 2025, "Steppe Rider" was found to be an "endless runner" game, where players navigate obstacles and collect letters to form Kazakh words.

Experts in the gaming industry have pointed out significant discrepancies between the delivered game and the initial technical requirements. They noted the absence of a full-fledged plot, developed dialogue, varied locations, and a systematic language-learning framework. Despite these criticisms, the Language Policy Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education had previously stated that the finished game complied with the technical specifications. The ongoing investigations aim to resolve these conflicting assessments and determine the project's true compliance and value.

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Decisions will likely be announced later, either through court proceedings or administrative action. That is a matter for the investigative authorities. We initiated and sent the relevant requests ourselves.