- More and more companies are leaving Russia as the war in Ukraine continues to escalate
- Epic Games ceases sales in Russia, but will still allow access to its games
- The company reasons there should be a line for dialogue open at least between gamers
Epic Games becomes yet another western company limiting or leaving the Russian market after the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
Epic Suspends Sales in Russia
The war in Ukraine has already had consequences outside of the affected area due to the many sanctions European countries posed on the Russian economy. With President Putin launching a war in Ukraine, many western countries imposed crippling economic sanctions on the country in response to the war.
Along with that, many companies have pulled out from the Russian market either in solidarity with the Ukrainian nation, or to not lose reputation when trading with an aggressor country. The list is long and includes many manufacturing giants, banks, shipping, and transportation conglomerates, as well as Internet giants.
The gaming world also condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and many gaming companies have either partially or fully left the country. The list grows with Epic Games now “stopping commerce” with the country. This means the sale and distribution of games through its online store will continue, but Epic will not restrict access to the games. The reason is that the company believes “the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.”
Gaming and Tech Companies Are Leaving Russia
Epic’s withdrawal from the Russian market comes just a few days after Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and Minister of digital transformation, urged game developers to leave Russia.
It has to be reaffirmed that Epic is not cutting off access to its games, albeit suspending game sales. This probably has to do with communication, as cutting off Russian gamers from communicating with the rest of the world would not accomplish much, nor does it hit the Russian economy.
Epic follows in the steps of many other companies. Microsoft, Sony, CDPR, Activision Blizzard, EA, and now Epic have made statements or stopped sales to some degree. Meanwhile, Russian esports is also taking a negative hit as many tournament organizers have banned Russian athletes and teams from competing.
As the war in Ukraine continues to intensify with thousands of lives already claimed on both sides and over 1.5 million refugees leaving the country none of these companies will be able to stay silent.
