Activision Blizzard and Epic Games joins Microsoft and Sony to suspend their sales in Russia

In Russia, Activision Blizzard has halted new sales “of and in” its games. Russia’s citizens are barred from engaging in any new business with the corporation, including game sales and in-game purchases.

Daniel Alegre, the president of Activision Blizzard, broke the news in a letter to its staff that was widely shared. The company announced that they were suspending their services in Russia, due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“Today, we are announcing that Activision Blizzard will be suspending new sales of and in our games in Russia while this conflict continues. We will continue to look at ways to support the Ukrainian people.” Daniel said. The restriction on both digital and physical games is not specified in the announcement. However, one noteworthy aspect of Activision’s announcement is that sales to Belarus, Russia’s economic partner, have not been halted.

“We are doing everything possible to assist employees, and their families, who are being directly affected by this tragedy,” Alegre says in the letter. “If you or a colleague needs support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your manager or local HR leaders. I’d also like to remind you that our Employee Assistance Program is available to those who need emotional support during this difficult time.” Daniel added in the recent post.

Epic is also halting commerce with Russia

Epic Games also halted transactions within the country a day after Activision. “Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine,” the company said. They do not, however, prohibit access, claiming that their program is merely a “communication tool.” “The free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.” the company added.

It’s unclear if Epic’s decision includes both its own titles and any in-game microtransactions it offers in Fortnite and also they didn’t mention Belarus in their announcements.

Mykhailo Federov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, requested Xbox and PlayStation to temporarily block Russian and Belarusian accounts and restrict their participation in esports competitions earlier this week. Later, Mykhailo requested Nintendo, Tencent, and Rockstar Games to suspend their operations in Russia.

Global gaming industry responds to Russia’s Invasion

Activision and Epic follow Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and CD Projekt Red in suspending sales to Russia. Russia has a huge market, the country was the ninth largest market for video games in 2021, with around $2.7 billion in industry revenue according to Statista.

Before this, Microsoft restricted all its new sales that included Xbox games and the products associated with Windows, Office, Microsoft 365, and other Microsoft products.

On the other side, EA has stated that they are working to remove Russian teams from NHL 22 and FIFA 22, and the ESL has stated that teams with ties to the Russian government, as well as sanctioned individuals, would not be allowed to compete.

It’s uncertain how much of an impact these sanctions will have on the Russian government. Certainly, at times like these, even if the outcomes are merely to restrict Russian residents from certain services. Although the Russian residents are utterly uninvolved in the invasion, they can pressurize the Russian government to stop the invasion. At Least that’s what Ukraine is expecting.