The cancellation of Russia continues today with Microsoft and Electronic Arts, both of whom have issued press releases confirming their decision to suspend their business with the country. Microsoft says that it is “horrified” at the war in Ukraine and is suspending new sales in Russia, while EA is “shocked” at the conflict and is stopping all sales of its games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in both Russia and Belarus. Microsoft appears to be winning in virtue points, however, having also pointed out that it’s making strides in bolstering Ukraine’s cybersecurity, not to mention its continued support for refugees.
Microsoft suspends new sales in Russia (Microsoft)
- In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions.
- Our single most impactful area of work almost certainly is the protection of Ukraine’s cybersecurity. We continue to work proactively to help cybersecurity officials in Ukraine defend against Russian attacks, including most recently a cyberattack against a major Ukrainian broadcaster.
- We are also continuing to mobilize our resources to help the people in Ukraine. Our Microsoft Philanthropies and UN Affairs teams are working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and multiple UN agencies to help refugees by providing technology and financial support for key NGOs and, where needed, we are defending these groups from ongoing cyberattacks.
Update on Electronic Arts titles in Russia and Belarus (EA)
- We have made the decision to stop sales of our games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and Belarus while this conflict continues.
- As a result, our games and content will no longer be available for purchase in our Russian region storefront on Origin or the EA app, including through in-game stores.
- We are also working with our platform partners to remove our titles from their stores and stop the sale of new in-game content in the region.