Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister calls on PlayStation and Xbox to fight the Russian invasion…in their own way.
It’s no surprise to anyone that it’s been a week since Russia began to invade Ukraine with military offensives and nuclear threats. Since then, the sanctions fall on the side of the countries further west and the Americans, but not only. Many companies have stopped their contracts with the country led by Vladimir Putin, and as a war is being played out on all fronts, the video game industry is also involved in the situation.
A call for help for the entire video game industry
This is why on Twitter, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov appeals to PlayStation and Xbox personally to try to impact the Russian economy in their area. He publishes for this a letter written and signed by his hand, in which he begs companies to leave the Russian economic market in honor of human values. He declares :
” You are certainly aware of what is happening in Ukraine at the moment. Russia has declared war not on Ukraine but on the whole civilized world. »
You are definitely aware of what is happening in Ukraine right now. Russia declares war not for Ukraine but for all civilized world. If you support human values, you should live the Russian market! pic.twitter.com/tnQr13BsSv
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 2, 2022
In the body of the letter, however, he targets ” all development studios and e-related platforms-sport “. According to him, these companies have the power to change the course of the war because “ in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to tanks, multiple rocket launchers and missiles. A remark which also explains why cyber warfare is as important as physical warfare in the digital age.
He then explains: I call to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian accounts, to temporarily stop the participation of all Russian and Belarusian teams and players in all international esports events and to cancel all international events taking place on the territory of the Russia and Belarus. »
Soon actions from Microsoft and Sony?
For the moment, neither PlayStation nor Xbox seems to have answered this call and it is therefore unknown what will happen to the next game releases, although the events should undoubtedly be canceled. In just a few hours, on March 4, Gran Turismo 7, a PlayStation exclusive, is due out. Sony could therefore make an announcement about this game in the coming hours.
STALKER 2 postponed to an indefinite date
This does not only affect the big groups Sony and Microsoft. The GSC Game World studio has also made a heavy decision. Few know, but the studio behind the game STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is actually based in Ukraine, in the city of Kyiv (Kiev), currently the main theater of this war. That’s why the studio said it’s pausing development of the game for now. In a post on his website, he explains:
” The Ukrainian people continue to defend their independence against the armed forces of the Russian Federation. They started bombarding our cities without warning, their soldiers burst in from the north, east and south. None of the citizens of Ukraine wanted war, few were ready for it, but we will defend our freedom until the end.
We are eternally grateful to our fans, friends and colleagues who have already joined the common cause of stopping Russian aggression. We are happy to be part of such a united community. But yet, the war is not over, and the enemy does not stop. At this very moment, our families and friends are trying to take shelter from the bombardments or are actively helping those who have already suffered from the occupiers. »
Originally scheduled for December 8, 2022so we don’t know when we’ll be able to get our hands on this long-awaited sequel.
