Ukrainian vice PM Mykhailo Fedorov calls on Sony, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and other gaming companies to ban all Russian and Belarusian accounts during the invasion
CD Projekt Red heeds the call, cuts off Russian access to GOG. — Update (March 3): Poland's CD Projekt Red announced this morning that it has …
Ars TechnicaKyle Orland
Context & Ripple Effects
Fedorov had already pressed Apple to halt Russian product sales and close its App Store, while Oracle said it had suspended Russian operations. The appeal to game-platform owners extends that campaign from device and enterprise vendors to consumer digital services.
CD Projekt Red immediately cut Russian access to GOG. Related coverage then records a broader shift from individual company responses toward sales and storefront restrictions across major game platforms.
First-order effects
GOG users in Russia lose access through CD Projekt Red's platform, while Sony, Ubisoft, and Microsoft face a public demand to restrict Russian and Belarusian accounts.
The request makes player-account access—not only the sale of new games—a focal point for the named platforms' Russia and Belarus policies.
As platforms limit sales and access by geography, their payment and account systems become operational choke points; Valve later reported that developers in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus were unable to receive payments under new regulations.
The pattern points toward game companies treating regional access, commerce, and account controls as linked policy tools during geopolitical crises, rather than as separate product decisions.
The trend: Gaming platforms are becoming geopolitical gatekeepers as account, storefront, and payment controls are used together to withdraw services from affected markets.
@Xbox @PlayStation You are definitely aware of what is happening in Ukraine right now. Russia declare war not for Ukraine but for all civilized world. If you support human values, you should live the Russian market! https://twitter.com/...
@riotgames ... Gameloft @wargaming_net Right now russian troops are bombing Ukrainian cities and killing Ukrainians. Please help us stop this. Close your offices in russia! There's no place for aggressor on the global technological map!
EA is removing Russian national teams and clubs from its FIFA series, as well as Russian and Belarusian teams from its NHL hockey franchise. This represents the largest digital protest of this sort to the war in Ukraine from the game industry so far. https://www.protocol.com/...
Ukraine Cabinet member calls on Sony, Microsoft, and other gaming companies to temporarily cut all ties with Russia and Belarus: https://twitter.com/...
I can't imagine denying a whole country of any form of entertainment, constantly demonizing them and ruining their economic situation couldn't possibly empower their ruling class by perpetuating the narrative of the world supporting their enemies right? https://twitter.com/...
Ukraine's deputy prime minister is calling on @xbox and @playstation to stop supporting Russian markets and “temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts.” Apple has halted sales of its products in Russia, will @microsoft and @sony follow? https://twitter.com/...
No more @Apple product sales in Russia! Now @tim_cook let's finish the job and block @AppStore access in Russia. They kill our children, now kill their access!
Thank you @SAP for stopping sales in Russia. But this is not enough! Bloody invader's army continues to kill our civil population. We ask you to stop support of SAP products, as long as Russian tanks and missiles attack Ukraine!
Oracle stops working with Russia. If Microsoft does it as well, it will paralyze the country more effectively than your worst virus https://twitter.com/...
BREAKING: In a HUGE loss for Putin, computer technology giant Oracle announces that it is suspending ALL operations in Russia, accepting President Zelisnky's request earlier this morning to support their fight against Russia's invasion. RT TO THANK ORACLE FOR BACKING UKRAINE!