Due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the sanctions jointly imposed by Western countries also affected players, and the game, a fully digital commodity, was first completely cut off from trading.
Three credit card organizations including VISA, Master Card, and American Express have previously proposed sanctions, and some Russian financial institutions have been excluded. PayPal, the world’s largest digital payments company, also joined the sanctions last week, barring Russia from using PayPal, as well as a humanitarian effort to aid Ukraine.
From a Russian friend – Steam no longer accepts *any* Russian cards, leaving PayPal (with a “non-sanctioned” bank like Tinkoff) the only valid payment method for the time.
… but is it enough to convince gamers to rise up? pic.twitter.com/2fSEBL8NJa
— Vadym ???????? (@YellowAfterlife) March 2, 2022
Although Steam itself has not blocked Russia, the above-mentioned financial sanctions have caused Russians to be cut off from all digital payment channels, so it is no longer possible to buy games directly on Steam.
In addition, because some Russian financial institutions are excluded from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), there are also concerns that local developers and publishers in Russia may not receive payment from Steam sales.
According to unconfirmed sources, players in Russia are working hard to find a solution, and it seems that some people have started a related business selling stored-value cards.
