The Ukrainian government has said that it will write an official letter to Valve, Microsoft and Sony asking that Atomic Heart, the new FPS game from Russian developer Mundish, be removed from digital stores in Ukraine itself, and that platform owners should consider to “limit distribution”. In other countries.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Affairs announced that it would send the letter due to the “toxicity” of Atomic Heart and the “potential collection of information about user data, and the possibility of its transfer to third parties in Russia”. Our own Atomic Heart review provides a comprehensive 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 asking a ban on the sale of digital versions of this game in Ukraine,” Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov said.
“We also urge that distribution of this game be restricted in other countries due to its toxicity, possible collection of user data, and potential use of money from in-game purchases to make war on Ukraine.”
The statement was originally released via Ukrainian tech website Dev.au. An English version was later obtained by – Game News, directly from the Ukrainian government.
“According to media reports, the development of the game was funded by Russian companies,” the statement continued. “Therefore, we call on all users around the world to avoid this game. We would also like to point out that the game developers have not publicly condemned Putin’s regime and the bloody war Russia has unleashed against Ukraine. .”
– Game News has reached out to Atomic Heart developer Mundfish and will update this story with any additional comments.
Developer Mundfish has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after it was alleged that the Russian government would benefit financially from the release of Atomic Heart. This is because among the investors involved in funding Mundfish are GEM Capital, an investment fund whose founder has ties to Gazprom and VTB Bank, both majority-owned by the Russian state.
Mundfish is also partnering with VK (formerly Mail.RU) for the Russian release of Atomic Heart, avoiding sanctions on Steam: VK is also majority-owned by the Russian state through Gazprombank, and Mundfish’s CEO is a former director . .RU. .
With Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, many gamers are now choosing to boycott the game in protest and donate money to organizations such as the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, the International Rescue Committee and the British Red Cross.