As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, more and more sanctions are being put in place. These sanctions have successfully put pressure on the country as Steam developers report that their sales income is being halted due to their using state-owned banks."This prompts an obvious question - what is supposed to be the end goal here?" YellowAfterLife asked on Twitter. "Even if Russia takes the capital, civilians weren't exactly going to welcome them with open hands before and much less so now. Consequences slowly reach smaller businesses as a Russian game dev colleague finds that Steam will no longer send payouts to their bank."They translated the response from Steam which read, "Your payment did not fail. Payment to this institution would not be successful." However, Russian developers can still earn an income should they switch to other, unsanctioned alternatives. But the pressure being put on Russia, even its smaller businesses and civilians, is what sanctions are for. Already, the Russian Ruble is worth less than Robux while banks, companies, airlines, technology suppliers, and more have been blocked.
But while Russian developers face sanctions and failed payouts, other game developers across the world are raising funds for Ukraine to try and support the country as the crisis continues to unfold. Whether it's Bungie running a Destiny 2 event, CD Projekt Red donating directly, or GOG sharing a cut with humanitarian charities, the wider community is supporting Ukraine.
However, the situation has escalated. Belarus is reported to have joined the invasion, deploying its own troops alongside Russian soldiers, while several cities are under siege with civilians being told to get to shelter as bombs drop. Ukraine meanwhile has been in talks with the EU as its allies continue to send supplies while issuing sanctions.