Grand Theft Auto Publisher Stops Selling Games in Russia and Belarus
After Russia’s invasion, the games industry rallied remarkably.
Ubisoft provided housing and financial assistance to their employees. Many companies have donated profits to Ukraine through game sales. 11-bit studios raised more than PS500,000 for Ukraine aid.
Indie teams have assembled a bundle with almost 1,000 games and are well on their way towards $1million.
Many studios, large and small, have pulled out entirely of Russia to raise money for the people in Ukraine. The hope is that this will increase the pressure on the government to end its current actions.
CD Projekt, of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 fame, stopped Russian sales and EA. This stopped sales and removed the national and club team from EA’s sports games. GI.biz Take-Two Interactive is the latest publisher to join this cause.
The publisher, the owner of juggernaut franchises such as Grand Theft Auto Red Dead and Redemption, Bioshock and Borderlands, has pulled all its games from Russia and Belarus. Alan Lewis, vice president for corporate communications and public relations, stated in a statement:
“The recent events in Ukraine deeply sadden us. We have decided, after much consideration, to cease all sales, installations and marketing support across all of our labels in Russia, Belarus, and Belarus.
This is in response to Nintendo suspending all eShop services throughout Russia. The store has entered Maintenance Mode. The store is no longer accepting Russian currency payments.
