Amid the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the gaming industry has been called upon for support, with deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov calling out Xbox and Playstation specifically in an open letter published on Twitter two days ago. Now, Microsoft and many others in the gaming industry have responded, showing solidarity with Ukraine.
Microsoft officially announced today that they are stopping all new sales of products in Russia. The announcement was made in a blog post by Microsoft president Brad Smith:
Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia.
We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.
In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions.
We believe we are most effective in aiding Ukraine when we take concrete steps in coordination with the decisions being made by these governments and we will take additional steps as this situation continues to evolve.
Microsoft has not only stopped sales in Russia, but has also been working with Ukrainian cybersecurity officials defend against Russian attacks, acting “against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations.” The company has also pledged to aid humanitarian organizations in the region as well as providing support to their own employees in Ukraine.
Microsoft is not the only company to halt sales of its products and services in Russia. Playstation, while having not publicly made any official statement has apparently halted the sales of Gran Turismo 7 in Russia right before launch.
Electronic Arts, after announcing previously that they are removing Russian teams from FIFA and NHL titles, also announced in a blog post today that they “continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine,” and have decided to halt any further sale of “games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues.”
We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine, and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the invasion. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Our primary concern is the ongoing safety of those in the region, particularly colleagues and partners, and we are seeking to understand how we might best help them further beyond our programs that are already in place.
We have made the decision to stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues. As a result, our games and content will no longer be available for purchase in our Russian region storefront on Origin or the EA app, including through in-game stores. We are also working with our platform partners to remove our titles from their stores and stop the sale of new in-game content in the region.
As this deeply troubling situation evolves, we’re continually reviewing the steps we can take. In addition to changes to our EA SPORTS FIFA and NHL games, we are actively evaluating other areas of our games and operations, and will update with any further actions.
CD Projeckt Red, developer of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, has also announced that it is stopping sales of its products in Russia. In a post on Twitter, the developer has stated that they will “suspend digital sales and cease physical stock deliveries of CD Projekt Group products, as well as games distributed on the GOG platform, to the territories of Russia and Belarus.” They go on to say that even though they do not aspire to be a political entity, but believe that hope to inspire change. They also acknowledge that their actions may also affect players in Russia and Belarus that are not involved in the invasion, but hope to spark global conversation about what is going on:
In light of the Russian military invasion in our neighboring country of Ukraine, until further notice the CD PROJECT Group has made the decision to halt all sales of our games to Russia and Belarus. Today, we begin working with our partners to suspend digital sales and cease physical stock deliveries of CD POJECT Group products, as well as all games distributed on the GOG platform, to the territories of Russia and Belarus.
The entire CD PROJEKT Group stands firm with the people of Ukraine. While we are not a political entity capable of directly influencing state matters, and don’t aspire to be one, we do believe that commercial entities, when united, have the power to inspire global change in the hearts and minds of ordinary people. We know that players in Russia and Belarus, individuals who have nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine, will be impacted by this decision, but with this action we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak about what is going on in the heart of Europe.
To our brothers and sisters fighting for their home country – stay strong!
Bloober Team, the polish developer behind The Medium, Layers of Fear and Blair Witch took to Twitter as well to announce that they too will stop selling their titles across Russia and Belarus, starting with taking their games off steam. They echoed the statement by CD Projekt Red, saying that though they know this will affect those not involved, they “strongly believe that every step that can help stop the war is worth taking.”
Dear community,
As the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine continues, killing defenders and civilians alike, we at Bloober Team have decided to stop selling our titles in Russia and Belarus across all platforms. We’ve been working with our partners to put the games down from the stores in these countries – the ban coming into effect first on Steam. Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people and this is one of several steps we’re currently taking to support them. We understand that our decision might affect many Russian and Belarussian players who are not involved in this invasion, but we strongly believe that every step that can help stop the war is worth taking – this includes showing a full solidarity with the Ukrainian people both with words and actions, as well as creating pressure on the Russian and Belarussian public opinion. We believe a global joint resistance can help make a difference. We want to be a part of a world that doesn’t turn a blind eye to warmongering. And we won’t stay neutral when human lives are at stake.
Other industries have also taken similar measures in the last week, including Apple, IKEA and Volkswagen. Disney, Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. have also all halted their upcoming movies from releasing in Russia.
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