Ukraine wants popular Russian game banned

Ukrainian leadership will be asking digital storefronts to stop selling a big new game in Ukraine, and has urged players in other countries to boycott it.

Atomic Heart, a newly released game for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, may soon become unavailable for purchase in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Oleksandr Borniakov, has announced that the ministry intends to send a letter to Sony, Microsoft, and Valve, asking them to remove the game from digital sales in Ukraine (via dev.ua).

Borniakov cited concerns about the game’s toxicity, and potential data collection, as well as the possibility that funds from game purchases could be used to finance the ongoing war against Ukraine. He also called for the game’s distribution to be limited in other countries.

“”We also call for limiting the distribution of this game in other countries due to its toxicity, potential collection of user data and the possibility of transferring it to third parties in Russia, as well as the potential use of money raised from game purchases to wage war against Ukraine,” Borniakov said.

He continued: “Therefore, we urge all users to ignore this game. We would also like to emphasise to the Western audience that the game developers have not issued a public statement condemning the Putin regime and the bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine”.

Atomic Heart has been criticised for it’s seemingly pro-Russia themes. Picture: Mundfish

The Deputy Minister urged users to ignore the game and criticised the developer for not publicly condemning the Putin regime and the ongoing conflict.

The developer of Atomic Heart, Mundfish, which is based in Cyprus, has declined to comment on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and has been accused of harvesting data for the Russian security services.

The studio responded to complaints with a statement saying it was “non-political” and “pro-peace”, a response that many have called inadequate. Dev.ua also claims that Mundfish has ties to Russian energy giant Gazprom.

Atomic Heart’s heavy use of Soviet Union, KGB, and Russian military theming has drawn criticism in Ukraine, where the illegal invasion by Russia has resulted in hundreds of apparent war crimes. Many have vowed to avoid the game due to this, pledging their support to Ukraine

Atomic Heart received middling reviews, but has been quite popular. Picture: Mundfish

Mick Gordon, the game’s Aussie composer, has pledged to donate all his earnings from the game to the Red Cross Australia’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal, saying that it was “a way for [him] to provide practical support” to those affected by the war.

Gordon previously accused Doom developer id Software of theft, saying that the studio refused to pay him for his work and lied publicly about issues facing Doom Eternal’s soundtrack.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.