The Ukrainian government has announced that it will write an official letter to Valve, Microsoft and Sony asking them to remove Atomic Heart, a new FPS game from Russian developer Mundfish, from digital stores in Ukraine itself, and platform owners should consider “restricting the distribution”. . to other countries.
The Ukrainian Minister of Numerical Development declares that it contains a letter en raison de la “toxicité” d’Atomic Heart et de la “collecte potentielle d’informations sur les données des utilisateurs, ainsi que de la possibilité de leur transfert à des tiers in Russia.” Our own Atomic Heart review offers an in-depth look at the new shooter.
“Regarding the situation with the release of the game Atomic Heart, which has Russian roots and idealizes communist ideology and the Soviet Union, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine will send an official letter to Sony, Microsoft and Valve with a request to ban the sale of digital versions of this game in Ukraine,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksiy Bornyakov.
“We also request that the distribution of this game be restricted in other countries due to its toxicity, the possible collection of user data, and the possible use of money received from in-game purchases for the war against Ukraine.”
The statement was originally published on the Ukrainian technology website Dev.au. PCGamesN later obtained the English version directly from the Ukrainian government.
“According to media reports, the development of the game was financed by Russian companies,” the report says. “Therefore, we urge all users around the world to avoid this game. We would also like to point out that the game developers have not publicly condemned the Putin regime and the bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine.
PCGamesN has reached out to Atomic Heart developer Mundfish and will update this story with further comment.
Developer Mundfish has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after claims that the Russian government could benefit financially from the release of Atomic Heart. In fact, among the investors involved in financing Mundfish is GEM Capital, an investment fund whose founder is linked to Gazprom and VTB Bank, which are majority owned by the Russian state.
Mundfish is also partnering with VK (formerly Mail.RU) for the Russian release of Atomic Heart, avoiding Steam sanctions: VK is also majority-owned by the Russian state through Gazprombank, and Mundfish’s CEO is a former creative director. from Mail.RU. . .
With the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine, many players are now choosing to boycott the game in protest and donating money to organizations such as the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, International Rescue Committee, and the British Red Cross.
Source : PC Gamesn
