In a letter shared on Twitter, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov called on the video game industry, and more particularly Xbox and PlayStation, to in turn put pressure on Russia and Belarus.
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Fedorov, who also serves as Minister of Digital Transformation, calls on “all game development companies” and esports organizations to apply sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian video game markets in response to the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine. .
Specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister asks to “block all Russian and Belarusian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in international esports events and cancel any international events taking place on the territory of Russia and Belarus”.
“I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything in your power to protect Ukraine, Europe and ultimately the whole democratic world from bloody and authoritarian aggression. […] We are convinced that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop this shameful military aggression,” reads the letter signed by Mykhailo Fedorov.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, several big players in the video game industry, especially in Poland, have supported the humanitarian effort among the Ukrainian population with significant donations.
Publishers, however, are slow to follow in the footsteps of the cinema industry, which has suspended the release of several upcoming big films in Russia.
It therefore remains to be seen whether this open letter from the Minister of Digital Transformation will lead giants like PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo to crack down on the Russian market in turn.
