The entire world is watching as two modern-day nation-states, Russia and Ukraine, are engaged in an armed military conflict. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is viewed as barbaric by many in the gaming community, including several prominent developers and publishers, most recently Ubisoft.
In the wake of the ongoing war, gaming corporations have decided to boycott sales in Russia entirely, despite massive revenue loss. Recently, Microsoft and EA stopped sales in Russia as a way to show its discontent towards the current conflict. It is among the many who have tried to distance themselves from Moscow.
Ubisoft appears to be the latest big-name video game developer who has severed ties with Russia. Ubisoft made the announcement on the news section of its official website, where it mentioned suspending all sales in Russia due to the "ongoing tragedy in Ukraine." This move doesn't come as a surprise because halting sales in Russia has become the latest norm for major companies, including Apple. The blog post which mentioned the announcement doesn't include the specifics, but it seems both digital and physical sales will be stopped.
This announcement from the Assassin's Creed maker comes as a follow-up of a statement issued previously on March 1. Ubisoft released a thorough blog post in which it displayed its support for Ukrainian citizens and its Ukrainian employees. The post also mentioned information about donations made by Ubisoft to the Ukrainian Red Cross, Save the Children, and the solidarity fund set up by the Bank of Ukraine. The previous post also talked about dedicated hotlines created by Ubisoft for Ukrainian citizens to provide personalized support and aid. With no change in the political scenario, Ubisoft eventually decided to sever all business ties with Russia by halting sales.
Besides stopping sales in Russia, video game companies have resorted to other ways to show their resentment towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine. EA has gone the extra mile and removed Russia from FIFA and NHL games. Moreover, FIFA, UEFA, IIHF have banned Russia from all future competitions, and NHL suspended all ties with the country.
As the war between the two European nations rages on, countless more high-profile corporations will try to distance themselves from Russia. Ubisoft has become the latest to join the ranks of Apple, EA, CD Projekt Red, TikTok, and Nvidia, who have stopped sales in Russia. These companies are among the many in the world that stand together with Ukraine in these troubled times.
Source: Ubisoft