Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, and more cut off business in Russia

The list of game publishers refusing to do business in Russia is growing. Activision Blizzard and Epic Games both say they are halting sales in the country in response to the Ukraine invasion.

Activision Blizzard president Daniel Alegre announced Saturday (March 5) that the company would "be suspending new sales of and in our games in Russia while this conflict continues" and "will continue to look at ways to support the Ukrainian people."

Aside from cutting of sales of new games, this means Russians who have already purchased the publisher's titles won't be able to make in-game purchases, although it seems they'll still be able to play the games themselves.

We are committed to helping those impacted by the terrifying violence taking place in Ukraine.

Today, we are announcing the suspension of new sales of and in our games in Russia while this conflict continues, as well as other efforts to assist Ukraine. https://t.co/wG9tQMNzjK

— Activision Blizzard (@ATVI_AB) March 5, 2022

"Throughout the past week," Algere said, "we have watched the news from Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian crisis that is unfolding. Our company’s commitment is to help those impacted by this terrifying violence and to provide assistance in every way possible."

Shortly after Activision Blizzard’s announcement, Epic Games followed suit and announced its decision to halt sales in Russia via Twitter:

Epic is stopping commerce with Russia in our games in response to its invasion of Ukraine. We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open.

— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) March 5, 2022

Epic’s announcement stated that it’s “stopping commerce with Russia” in its games, but notes that it won’t ban Russian players from accessing them.

It’s unclear whether the Fortnite developer’s ban on commerce applies to microtransactions, games, or both.