EA is not the first publisher or developer to halt game sales in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. We’ve seen quite a stand-up in support of Ukraine and against the decisions Russian leadership is making.
All of this comes after weeks of controversy around The Sims 4 expansion “My Wedding Stories” not releasing Russia due to laws against serving underage children anything that presents homosexuality as a societal norm.
The statement EA put out this morning details the steps EA is taking to remove digital games from Russia and Belarus.
“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.”
Not only are digital games being removed from Origin and the EA app, but virtual currencies for games like FIFA will no longer be purchasable in Russia.
Earlier this week EA announced its plan to remove Russian teams from NHL 22, FIFA 22, FIFA Online, and FIFA mobile. While these changes have not been made yet, EA is working with both organizations to make this change happen. On top of that, NHL 22 is also removing Belarusian clubs from the game.
