Epic announced that it was “stopping commerce with Russia in our games” as a direct result of the conflict in a tweet from its Newsroom account. It also stated that it would not restrict access to games for those who already own them “for the same reason that other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of communication open.”
Epic announced that it was “stopping commerce with Russia in our games” as a direct result of the conflict in a tweet from its Newsroom account. It also stated that it would not restrict access to games for those who already own them, “for the same reason that other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.”
Epic’s move is the latest in a line of similar moves by Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and Electronic Arts.
EA said in a statement on Friday that it would “stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus.”
EA prioritises the sale of new games and bundles over existing purchases, and the publisher confirmed in an email to GamesRadar that it is “not shutting down access to local services at this time, meaning players who have already purchased a title in the region will still be able to access their game.” EA, on the other hand, says it is “working with our platform partners to remove our titles from their stores and halt the sale of new in-game content in the region.”
In the midst of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, EA reiterated that it is “actively evaluating other areas of our games and operations.” Only two days ago, the publisher removed Russian teams from several EA Sports properties.
The original story
Microsoft has suspended “new” product sales and services in Russia in support of the country’s ongoing sanctions in response to its attack on Ukraine.
The decision was announced by company president Brad Smith in a blog post earlier today, just two days after Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on PlayStation and Xbox to temporarily ban all Russian accounts.
“We are announcing today that we will suspend all new Microsoft product and service sales in Russia,” Smith writes, emphasising the company’s stance on “Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unlawful invasion.”
This suspension affects Windows, Xbox, Microsoft Azure cloud computing, and other services. Furthermore, Microsoft says it is “halting many aspects of our business in Russia” and is “working in tandem with the governments of the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.”
It’s unclear what other business “aspects” Microsoft is suspending at the moment, nor do we know the full extent to which this decision will impact Xbox operations in Russia. The company’s statement refers to “new sales,” so while Russians won’t be able to purchase a new Xbox Series X from official sources, when and how Russian access to services like Xbox Live or Xbox Game Pass will be affected is less clear. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for more information and will update our coverage if we receive a response.
