Ukraine war: gaming industry reacts – Russia without GTA and CoD

Created: 05/03/2022, 17:12

By: Janik Boeck

The Ukraine war is shaking the world – the gaming industry is reacting.

EA Sports is deleting teams, while Ubisoft, Rockstar Games and CD Projekt RED are also making their mark.

Hamburg – The Ukraine war is still in full swing and upsets the world.

The gaming industry is also moving to help the people of Ukraine.

A number of publishers, developers and other industry organizations are collecting donations or boycotting Russia in order to increase the pressure on the Kremlin and end the Ukraine war as quickly as possible.

Ukraine war: gaming industry supported – this is how developers, publishers and other companies help

These developers, publishers and companies help with donations:

the expressions of solidarity for Ukraine don't stop.

Not only in sport, where Russia was banned from all competitions by FIFA and UEFA*, but also in gaming, Ukraine receives all kinds of support. For example, Knossi and Capital Bra collected donations for Ukraine in the stream*.

Since the Ukraine war escalated on February 24, a number of publishers, developers and other organizations from the gaming industry have spoken out.

• 11 Bit Studios

  – 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the anti-war game This War of Mine in the period from 24.02.

  until 3.3.

  go to the Ukrainian Red Cross

• Bungie

  – 100% of proceeds from the first 48 hours of the Game2Give charity event went to humanitarian organizations fighting the Ukraine war

• CD Projekt Red

  – 1 million złoty (approx. 209,000 euros) donated to the Polish aid organization Polska Akcja Humanitarna (PAH).

• Ubisoft

  - Employees from the are financially supported to leave the country and provided with accommodation, among other things.

  An emergency hotline has been set up to provide support at any time.

  200,000 euros will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross and Save the Children.

• Beetlewing

  - 100% of the proceeds from the sale of Slipways between 25.02.

  and the 4.3.

  go to the Polish Red Cross to support Ukraine

• Techland Games

  – 1 million złoty (approx. 209,000 euros) donated to the Polish aid organization Polska Akcja Humanitarna (PAH).

• Wargaming

  - Donates $1 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross

• Embracer Group

  – Donates US$1 million to various charities (including SOS Children's Villages)

• John Romero

  - Sell a new level for 1994 Doom 2 for 5 EUR and donate 100% of the proceeds

• Assemble Team

  - 100% of proceeds from the sale of Save the World editions in March will go to the Ukrainian Red Cross

• Niantic

  - Donating $200,000 to charities

• The Pokémon Company

  - Donates $200,000 to charities

Ukraine war: gaming industry helps with donations and boycott © Bungie/Ubisoft/CD Projekt Red/11 Bit Studios (Montage)

These developers, publishers and companies are helping with boycotts:

In addition to donations for Ukraine, there are also a number of companies that are boycotting Russia, for example by no longer offering their products or services there:

• ESL

  - Organizations with ties to the Russian government are not allowed to participate in upcoming competitions.

  However, players from these teams may compete under a neutral name if they do not represent the country, the organization or their sponsors.

• NAVI

  – Ends cooperation with ESforce Holding

• Microsoft

  – Supports Ukraine with its own technology against cyber attacks

• Steam

  - No transactions can be made with Russian accounts at this time

• EA Sports

  - In FIFA 22, the Russian national team will be removed, as well as all Russian national teams.

  In addition, the Belarusian teams will also be removed from the NHL.

• CD Projekt Red

  – In addition to the donation, the Polish development studio decided to stop selling games in Russia or Belarus

• Activision Blizzard

  - No longer sells games in Russia

• Rockstar Games

  - No longer sells games in Russia

• Bethesda Game Studios

  – No longer sells games in Russia

• Xbox Game Studios

  – No longer sells games in Russia

In the case of Steam, however, it should be noted that with the EU* excluding Russian banks from SWIFT, most payment methods will not work anyway.

Ukraine war: Deputy Prime Minister asks gaming industry for help

This is Mykhailo Fedorov's request:

In order to increase the pressure on Russia in the Ukraine war, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov addressed two giants of the gaming industry with a request.

He asked Xbox* and PlayStation* to temporarily ban all Russian and Belarusian accounts.

In an open letter, he wrote:

He also calls for banning all Russian and Belarusian teams from international e-sports events, as well as events in Russia and to cancel Belarus.

He is sure that this will motivate the Russian population to stop the "shameful military aggression" and thus end the Ukraine war.