Microsoft suspended ‘all new sales’ of its products in Russia

Microsoft suspended all ‘New Sales’ in the Russian market in response to the invasion of Ukraine. “We stand with Ukraine in calling for the restoration of peace” Microsoft added. After Apple, Microsoft also responded to the Russian-Ukraine Conflict in their recent blog post.

“Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered, and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft president, and vice-chairman.

Microsoft responded to Mykhailo’s call for help 

‘New Sales’ refers to sales of products and services including Xbox and Windows and Microsoft is ready to suspend ‘Many Aspects’ of its business in Russia to honor Western ( US, UK, and EU) Economic Sanctions. Nonetheless, more information about Microsoft’s move is needed to better understand what the impact will be on Russian consumers. 

Due to the sales suspension, Russian users may be unable to purchase any new Xbox first-party titles, as well as subscriptions to Game Pass, Xbox Live, or any other Microsoft service. However, it is unclear whether the renewal of existing Microsoft services is available to Russian consumers or not.

This whole incident happened after Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, called on gaming companies around the world to take action against Russia. In a letter tweeted on March 2nd, Fedorov tagged Xbox and Playstation and asked gaming companies to  “temporarily halt” the participation of Russian and Belarussian teams and gamers in all international esports competitions, as well as cancel any international events held on Russian and Belarussian soil.”

Microsoft is coordinating with the US, UK, and EU governments to take ‘Concrete steps’ and aid Ukraine effectively.

“We believe we are most effective in aiding Ukraine when we take concrete steps in coordination with the decisions being made by these governments and we will take additional steps as this situation continues to evolve.”

With the suspension, Microsoft joins a growing number of American tech giants that have cut Russia off from key technology, including Apple and Dell Technologies. In response to requests from European governments, Meta previously banned access to Russian state-run news outlets RT and Sputnik “across the EU.”

“We have received requests from a number of Governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media. Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time” tweeted Nick Clegg, Meta  (VP of Global Affairs ).”

Sony and CD Projekt also responded to the conflict

Not just Microsoft, but Sony, Microsoft’s biggest gaming competitor,  also responded by halting the sales of Gran Turismo 7 in Russia. Sony hasn’t officially confirmed that Gran Turismo 7 will not be released in Russia, but the game is not available on the Russian PlayStation Store page.

Following Sony’s lead, Cyberpunk 2077 maker CD Projekt Red responded with a tweet announcing that they will no longer sell their games in Russia and Belarus.

“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,” CD Projekt in their recent tweet.

Not only is the digital sale being discontinued, but the CD Project organization has also said that physical stock deliveries of their product, as well as all games released on the GOG platform, would be discontinued in Russia and Belarus.

Microsoft with Apple, Paypal, Nike, ExxonMobil, Boeing, Ford Motor Co., and Airbnb are among the companies that have severed connections with Russia, joining many of the world community in doing so.