Economic sanctions of all kinds have rained down on Russia following the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Among the economic powerhouses to take up the call, gaming industry juggernauts Electronic Arts and ESL are now implementing measures in response to this aggression.
Polish game developer CD Projekt Red – known for acclaimed titles such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 – is the latest company to announce its support for Ukraine, by promptly halting all physical and digital sales in Russia. The producer has also banned its lineup of products in Belarus, whose leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, granted land access to the Russian Armed Forces, prompting sanctions from the U.K. foreign secretary, the BBC reports.
The emergent gaming distributor released a statement on Twitter to explain this decision:
“In light of the Russian military invasion in our neighboring country of Ukraine, until further notice, the CD Projekt Group has made the decision to halt all sales of our games to Russia and Belarus. 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.”
Poland maintains close ties with Ukraine, and according to a March 1 report by the UN Refugee Agency, Poles have welcomed hundreds of thousands of war escapees. It’s no wonder, then, that CD Projekt is following in the same footsteps by adopting this stance.
Many Russians have actively condemned the invasion of Ukraine, leading to widespread protests in many cities across the Russian Federation. But for the time being at least, whatever their politics, Russian gamers will have to bear with these limitations.
