Nintendo suspends digital sales in Russia
CD Projekt Red will no longer sell games in Russia and Belarus
It’s halting sales of ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ and all titles on the GOG store in the two countries.
CD Projekt Red says it will stop selling its games until further notice in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. People in those two countries will no longer be able to buy the publisher’s own games — such as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — or any title from CD Projekt’s GOG store.
“Today, we begin working with our partners to suspend digital sales and cease physical stock deliveries of CD PROJEKT Group products, as well as all games distributed on the GOG platform, to the territories of Russia and Belarus,” CDPR wrote in a statement on Twitter. The publisher’s games are sold on several digital platforms, including the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch stores, as well as Steam, Epic Games Store and Google Stadia.
In a note to investors, CD Projekt said that Russia and Belarus accounted for around 5.4 percent of revenue from its own games and 3.7 percent of GOG sales over the last 12-month period.
CDPR said it “stands firm with the people of Ukraine.” The day after the invasion started, CD Projekt donated approximately $242,000 to a humanitarian group in support of the conflict’s victims.
“While we are not a political entity capable of directly influencing state matters, and don’t aspire to be one, we do believe that commercial entities, when united, have the power to inspire global change in the hearts and minds of ordinary people,” CDPR said. It acknowledged the decision will impact gamers in Russia and Belarus who aren’t involved in the invasion and perhaps oppose it, “but with this action we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak about what is going on in the heart of Europe.”
Bloober Team, the developer of games such as The Medium and Blair Witch, is blocking sales of its titles in Belarus and Russia on all platforms too. “We want to be a part of a world that doesn’t turn a blind eye to warmongering. And we won’t stay neutral when human lives are at stake,” the studio said. Like CD Projekt, Bloober Team is based in Poland, which borders Ukraine.
The moves by CDPR and Bloober Team follow a request from Ukraine’s vice prime minister for gaming companies to temporarily block player accounts in Russia and Belarus. EA Sports said on Wednesday it’s removing Russian and Belarusian teams from FIFA and NHL games.
Update 3/3 12:56PM ET: Added details about Bloober Team removing its games from sale.
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