Other Games and companies pulling out of Russia

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Electronic Arts announced on Friday that it is following the path laid out by certain other video game companies with regards to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Like CD Projekt before it, EA has decided that it will stop selling its games and associated content and virtual currencies in both Russia and Belarus. The decision was made with the concern of the safety of those within the region, as well as to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Upon the morning that Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 7 dropped, however, it was unexpectedly absent from the Russian PlayStation Store where the racing game is tagged with a release date as "pending confirmation." While Sony has yet to release an official statement regarding the move, it is believed to have made the decision only last night.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1498945221337534469

Earlier this week Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, released an open letter to the world. He called on all game development companies and Esports platforms "to protect Ukraine, Europe and, finally, the entire democratic world" by temporarily blocking all Russian and Belarusian game accounts, not allowing Russian and Belarusian teams and gamers to compete in any international Esport events, and cancel all events being held in Russia and Belarus. Federov went on to say that he hopes modern technology is the best way to answer the tanks and missiles entering his country.

In yet another move directed at sanctioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, American tech giant Microsoft has announced it will stop selling products and services in Russia. This will likely include Xbox, Windows, and Azure, but appears limited to new sales.

Among the many reactions to the invasion, Microsoft's move might be one of the most impactful, considering the widespread adoption of its products and services across the whole of Russia. With the invasion having entered its second week, Russian society is being cut off from much of the world economy, although to what extent those sanctions will impact Putin's decision-making is yet to be seen.

Together with the recent move by Apple, which blocked its sales in Russia as well, the result may be quite frustrating for much of the Russian people. In the blog post, Microsoft's president also pledged to continue helping Ukrainian cybersecurity in these dire times.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1499752678120960003
 
Russia is going to have a sad sad generation of people in it that are not gamers or even people with a higher QoL. This is the only way to go I'm sure.
 
I wonder would board games will be more popular after the Russian product bans since it is not too hard to make board games even if board game companies no longer ship to Russia.

I guest a lot of Russians will mainly play Russian made games, and play free PC games which people can download and play for free.
 
Good. I see a lot of people saying that the people in Russia that don't support the war shouldn't suffer but this is an effective method. The angrier the general population is, the less likely Putin will succeed (hopefully anyway)
 
Ash said:
Good. I see a lot of people saying that the people in Russia that don't support the war shouldn't suffer but this is an effective method. The angrier the general population is, the less likely Putin will succeed (hopefully anyway)
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I was thinking about that the other day, we're in a lifestyle that is deeply connected to other countries, cutting off that connect (recent one being netflix) will certinally lose public support.

Putin is about to get a rough 22nd century slap :P
 
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Absolutely. It's funny that after all of this, the thing that might take down the Russian government is the lack of gaming and entertainment services for the Russian people. Looks like McDonalds and Coca Cola are the next to pull out
 
Ash said:
Absolutely. It's funny that after all of this, the thing that might take down the Russian government is the lack of gaming and entertainment services for the Russian people. Looks like McDonalds and Coca Cola are the next to pull out
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They'd be looking like a modern-day Japan after everything gets to the Russian people. They need democracy.
 
Ash said:
Absolutely. It's funny that after all of this, the thing that might take down the Russian government is the lack of gaming and entertainment services for the Russian people. Looks like McDonalds and Coca Cola are the next to pull out
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Dang, they will go down in flames if McDonalds pulls out lol.
 
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It's real abysmal time for the Russian subjects the ongoing war against Ukraine, have really caused them pains, since they're the ones that declared war on Ukraine, that's why the world is on them.
 
Read from siliconera and cnbc:

Sony is the latest company to take action regarding sales due to the war in Ukraine. It announced that it will no longer sell its PS4 or PS5 consoles or their games in Russia. This will apply to both digital and physical sales, as it will no longer offer PlayStation Store access. The company announced it will also make donations to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children. [Thanks, CNBC!]

“Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine,” the company said.

“To support humanitarian aid, Sony Group Corporation announced a $2 million donation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international NGO, Save the Children, to support the victims of this tragedy,” the company statement added
 
Read more from gamesindustry biz:

IDG Consulting shared estimates for 2021 games revenues in Russia with GamesIndustry.biz, saying the market generated around $3.4 billion last year.
The bulk of this, as with any market, stems from mobile games at an estimated $1.4 billion, while PC follows closely at $1.2 billion. Console revenue was estimated at $864 million, with the majority believed to come from digital sales (via stores such as the eShop) at $549 million.

Some companies have also cut off Belarus -- the nation that borders both Russia and Ukraine, through which the Russian military is also able to enter the latter country -- with Newzoo estimating that market spent $101 million on video games in 2021.

IDG also shared estimates for gaming revenues from the entirety of Europe, amounting to $51.5 billion. Russia accounts for 6% of all spending on video games across the continent, including 8% of all money spent on mobile games and 12% of all PC games revenues.

According to Newzoo, Russia is the sixth biggest market in Europe, and the 15th biggest in the world.

Meanwhile, Sensor Tower ranks Russia at No.13 in terms of global mobile revenues -- 1% of all player spending -- and No.5 in terms of downloads. While downloads don't always lead to spending, they can still generate revenue via advertising, with Sensor Tower estimating 2.8 billion downloads across the App Store and Google Play in 2021.

Cutting off a $3.4 billion market, regardless of your position in it, is going to have an impact on your bottom line. So while the cessation of sales could be dismissed as a symbolic gesture, it's more significant than that in the grander scheme of how these publishers do business -- and in the precedent it sets for how an increasingly global games industry will be expected to respond to international conflicts.
 
And now my football club is affected. The Chelsea owner was quite close to Putin and he has now been sanctioned. We're a pretty big club so we should be fine but it's still a nervous time
 
I did laugh that Farmville have removed in app purchases in a russia. Putin will be shitting himself at that.
 
Russia's counter move to this, read from kotaku:

The Russian government is looking to legalize at least some software piracy to help its citizens get around the growing list of tech, gaming, and software bans that the country faces due to its ongoing and destructive invasion of Ukraine. It seems Russian leaders and lawmakers are preparing to live under sanctions, a bad sign for those hoping the war will end anytime soon.

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has introduced a potential new law called the “Priority Action Plan for Ensuring the Development of the Russian Economy in the Conditions of External Sanctions Pressure.” As reported by TorrentFreak, a passage found in point 6.7.3 seems to have big implications for software piracy. Translated, it reads:

Cancellation of liability for the use of software (SW) unlicensed in the Russian Federation, owned by a copyright holder from countries that have supported the sanctions.
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In other words, the idea is that once this law is passed, anyone could download and use pirated software for which there is no Russian-made alternative as long as the software originates from a country that currently supports the sanctions against Russia. TorrentFreak notes that the proposed law covers both civil and federal liability, and that these new changes to Russia’s law would remain in place for as long as the sanctions persist.
 
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