At the moment there is no answer: the Cupertino company paralyzed the sale of its products in Russia yesterday.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine ordered a week ago by Vladimir Putin continues to be noticed in the video game industry, and directly. In this sense, today we have learned that the Kyiv government has formally asked PlayStation and Xbox, as well as other companies in the industry without mentioning, take action against the Russian and Belarusian market, following the example of Apple.
“To all video game development companies and eSports platforms. The Russian Federation has carried out a heinous military attack based on lies against my country. Imagine, in the middle of 2022, seeing cruise missiles attacking residential neighborhoods, kindergartens and hospitals in the heart of Europe”, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, begins his message. “The whole world is repelling the aggressor by imposing of sanctions: the enemy must suffer significant losses. But we need your support: in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to tanks“, keep going.
The message explicitly mentions PlayStation and Xbox but not Steam, where a large part of the Russian gaming community is concentrated. In fact, according to Valve’s latest survey, 11.12% of Steam users are Russian speakers.
In this way, the former Soviet republic asks for more involvement from the video game industry with various actions. These could range from temporarily blocking access to subscription services in Russia and Belarus, the cessation of the sale of consoles and games in both countries, etc. From Apple, to give an example, yesterday they put on pause the marketing of products in the country governed by Putin.
The impact of the Russian aggression continues to be felt in the industry, from Ukrainian studios making an international appeal like the creators of Stalker, to dismissals in Belarusian teams for showing their express support for the invasion of the European republic. Likewise, companies have turned to support their workers located in Ukraine, such as Ubisoft.
More about: Ukraine, PlayStation and Xbox.