All eyes are upon Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and the forces of two neighboring countries continue to fight across some of the Ukrainian cities and border areas. While Russia is ready for a full-on war, Ukraine calls the world’s top leaders to stand against its military assault. The latest call is being made to the world gaming fraternity, including Xbox, PlayStation, and other game development companies and Esports platforms.
In a letter sent to these companies, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, demanded a total ban on Russia. Mykhailo states that the firms are well aware of the “bloody authoritarian violence. ” They must “do all the possible things to defend Ukraine” from Russian attacks. He also states that in 2022 “modern technologies could be the most effective solution to the rocket launchers, missiles, and tanks.”
As long as Russia reverses its military attack on Ukraine, the Vice Prime Ministers of Ukraine demanded gaming companies not to hold any international event within Belarus and Russia. In this regard, Mykhailo Fedorov called for an absolute ban of the entire Russian or Belorussian-owned accounts connected to the gaming platforms, such as Xbox and PlayStation. Further, he asked the gaming companies to prohibit the participation of teams from both countries in all international esports competitions.
The official message issued by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine is also posted on Twitter through Mykhailo’s official account, marking the accounts of Xbox and PlayStation.
Gaming in Russia:- If the gaming companies decide to act as per the Mykhailo appeals, the decision will affect a significant portion of the Russian population. According to the study, more than 70 million gamers will be active in Russia until March 2022. Roughly 40 million gamers prefer mobile gaming. Therefore, it is easy to recognize that many people play online games using one or many platforms.
However, the development side of things has not been forte for Russia. The study shows that just 3% of the games available on the Google Play Store those created with Russian developers’ help. The Russian game developers are only 2% compared with the total game developers across the globe. Therefore it is easy to understand that there is a massive disparity in the gaming business in Russia. Suppose the leading game developers choose to impose sanctions against the country and its gaming industry. In that case, it could affect its gaming industry due to the massive number of gamers and the nation’s shortage of related development infrastructure.
Gaming sanctions against Russia:- The sanctions are already handed out by the bigwigs. EA Sports Company has declared that it will eliminate the clubs and the country’s national team from video games’ most popular gaming titles, such as FIFA and NHL. The FIFA, FIFA Mobile, and FIFA 22 video games will not show the linked teams with Russia.
Major chipmaker companies, including TSMC, Intel, and AMD, have stopped their business activities with Russia in the hardware realm. It had a massive impact on the Smartphone and PC industry in Russia.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Barry is a lover of everything technology and finance (FinTech). Figuring out how the software works and creating content to shed more light on the value it offers users is his favorite pastime. When not evaluating apps or programs, he's busy trying out new healthy recipes, doing yoga, meditating, or taking nature walks with his little one.
