EA is blocking sales of its games in Russia and Belarus and removing its products from stores, as well as Gran Turismo 7, with other PlayStation releases hanging in the balance.
Most recently, EA decided to join Microsoft and the Bloober Team in blocking sales of its games in the occupied country and Belarus.
We are also working to remove our titles from EA stores
“We have decided to stop the sale of our games and content, including virtual currency packs, in Russia and Belarus for the duration of the conflict,” the company explained in a statement. “As a result, our games and content will no longer be available for purchase in the Russian region via Origin or the EA app, including in-game stores.”
But that’s not the end of Electronic Arts’ action, as it plans to block the sale of physical products in these locations as well: “We are also working with our platform partners to remove our titles from their stores and stop the sale of new in-game content in the region.” In closing the post, Electronic Arts reminds us that we could see more changes to its products due to the situation.
Sony has not yet issued an official statement on the decision
Just hours after it was confirmed that CD Projekt RED would stop selling its games in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, it now seems that PlayStation has taken a similar step, leaving the publishment of Gran Turismo 7 in Russia up in the air.
Other game companies donate to Ukraine
In the absence of official confirmation from the Japanese company, at the time of writing, the new Gran Turismo is not available for purchase from PlayStation’s online store. According to Eurogamer, the decision was reportedly made on Thursday evening, but quietly.
Russian players trying to access Gran Turismo 7 were met with the message “release pending confirmation.” Several media outlets have been attempting to contact PlayStation to discuss the situation, but so far, as we said, no official statement has been made.
A few days ago, the Ukrainian government itself asked PlayStation and Xbox to block their services in Russia in response to the invasion. “We need their support: in 2022, modern technology is probably the best answer to tanks,” said one Ukrainian minister. Since then, several video game companies have tried to help the victims of the war with donations and other actions.
THQ Nordic and Gearbox have donated $1 million to Ukraine, followed by Ubisoft, IO Interactive and other game companies with similar financial measures. Electronic Arts has also confirmed that it will remove the Russian national club from FIFA games to show support for Ukraine, and most recently, a DOOM author has designed a new map for DOOM 2 to raise donations. The war of terror has also put the development of a long-awaited game such as STALKER 2 on hold, as the studio responsible for the game is based in Kyiv.
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