CD Projekt has announced it’s stepping up its support of Ukraine by cutting off Russia and Belarus from digital game sales. All digital sales of CD Projekt’s games such as The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 will cease, and all physical game shipments will halt immediately. Additionally, CD Projekt will remove access to its GOG platform in Russia and Belarus.
“In light of the Russian military invasion in our neighboring country of Ukraine, until further notice, the CD Projekt Group has made the decision to halt all sales of our games to Russia and Belarus," the Polish publisher said in a statement.
"The entire CD Projekt Group stands firm with the people of Ukraine. While we are not a political entity capable of directly influencing state matters, and don't aspire to be one, we do believe commercial entities, when united, have the power to inspire global change in the hearts and minds of ordinary people. We know that players in Russia and Belarus, individuals who have nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine, will be impacted by this decision, but with this action, we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak about what is going on in the heart of Europe."
This move comes in addition to the $240,000 that CD Projekt has already donated to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the move received universal praise on social media except for Russian users, who noted that this is unlikely to sway the course of the war. However, CD Projekt is hardly alone in isolating Russia. EA recently announced it will remove Russian players and teams from its FIFA franchise, Disney has halted new movie releases in Russia, and Steam has stopped developer payments for Russian game devs thanks to international sanctions. So far, Xbox and PlayStation have yet to cut off access to their networks, but it’s something that’s been suggested by the Ukrainian vice prime minister.
While Russia is becoming increasingly isolated, Ukraine is receiving support from developers all over the world. Charities in Ukraine have received over £500,000 from 11 Bit Studios from sales of This War Of Mine, and legendary Doom creator John Romero is donating all proceeds from his new Doom 2 level to the Red Cross and UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
If you'd like to give directly to Ukrainians displaced due to the conflict, consider giving to the International Red Cross through these links.