Sony and Bungie have joined the growing ranks of developers and publishers to stop game and hardware sales in Russia and Belarus following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both companies have also made donations to humanitarian aid organizations working to help refugees trying to flee the conflict.
More game sales stop in Russia
Sony was reported to have canceled the launch of Gran Turismo 7 in Russia last week. Today’s statement confirms that this indeed happened, and the company has also halted sales of hardware and software in the country. This also includes all operations of the PlayStation Store. In order to support “humanitarian aid” and “victims of this tragedy”, Sony has also made a $2 million donation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save The Children.
Bungie had already announced they were donating 100% of the proceeds of the first 48 hours of their Game2Give drive to Ukraine humanitarian aid efforts. This alone raised $120,000 and the company is continuing to match employee donations. These donations are heading to Direct Relief and International Rescue Committee. In terms of their products, Bungie has now announced they have halted “sales and commerce” of Destiny 2 in Russia and Belarus. Players in these countries can continue to play the content they have already purchased and download the free game.
Destiny 2 players can also get a new Cоняшник emblem that will be available for free starting tomorrow, March 10. The emblem can be redeemed via a code that will be announced during the next This Week At Bungie. The emblem “humbly tried to exemplify the hope and courage that has been so emblematic of the Ukrainian people during this impossible time. Alongside Ukraine’s coat of arms, impressionistic sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower, populate the peaceful countryside – a metaphor for hope and our way of expressing solidarity.”
In other news, Exoprimal is a new IP from Capcom that pits teams of five exofighters against huge hordes of dinosaurs taking over the world in the near future. The game will be released on PS5 and PS4 next year. You can also check out everything else you may have missed from tonight’s State of Play show in our roundup.
