A raft of publishers have joined the growing list of companies that have stopped sales of games and DLC in Russia and Belarus.
Take-Two vice president of corporate communications and public affairs Alan Lewis spoke to GamesIndustry.biz. “We have watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness,” he said. “After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time.”
Ubisoft, which has developers in Ukraine, has set up alternative housing in neighbouring countries where their employees and their families can shelter, along with hotlines and emergency communications. “In light of the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to suspend our sales in Russia,” they added.
Activision say they have suspended “new sales of and in our games in Russia,” so that includes in-game DLC, and have already raised $300,000 for relief funds.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 9, 2022
Sony have cancelled the that launch of Gran Turismo 7 in Russia, donated $2 million to the United Nations and Save the Children, and suspended the PlayStation Store in Russia, cutting off players from buying any games.
Finally, Bungie have raised $120,000 via the Game2Give charity initiative and have halted all sales of Destiny 2 in Russia and Belarus. Players will still be able to play the game online but will not be able to purchase silver to buy cosmetics, or indeed the latest expansion The Witch Queen.
“Additionally, we are introducing the Cоняшник emblem, being created for players to show their support for the people of Ukraine and all of those impacted during this ongoing crisis, and beyond,” they add.
“This emblem will be free to all players, and will become available on Thursday, March 10. We will share a universal code to redeem this emblem in this week’s TWAB.”
The publishers join Microsoft, EA, CD Projeckt Red, Nintendo and others who have suspended sales in Russia. Russian clubs and the national team are also being removed from FIFA 22 and NHL 22.
Source: Ubisoft, GI.Biz, Activision, Bungie, Twitter
