As of today, Nintendo and Bungie have ceased trading in the Russian market due to the country’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis. It means they have stopped shipping and selling their products to Russia until further notice, and with everything going on at the minute, don’t be surprised to see more developers following suit at some point soon.
It was only last week that Nintendo put their Russian eShop into maintenance mode, which means any Switch user in the country is not able to buy digital games of any kind. Upcoming games like Life is Strange Remastered Collection and Kirby, and the Forgotten Land will not be sold in the country or become available on the eShop.
Statements from Nintendo and Bungie on the situation
A Nintendo spokesperson recently spoke out and announced the news regarding the suspension for the Russian market, saying, “for the foreseeable future, due to considerable volatility surrounding the logistics of shipping and the distribution of physical goods, we have decided to stop our sales in Russia.” So, don’t expect there to be a change in their stance either, at least until world affairs are in order.
Over at Bungie, they have decided to stop the sales of Destiny 2 in Russia and neighboring Belarus. Both countries will still have access to the free base game and any previously purchased DLC but will no longer be able to buy premium content or in-game currency. Bungie also announced they had released a custom blue and yellow emblem so players could show their support for Ukraine. “We humbly tried to exemplify the hope and the courage that has been shown by the Ukrainian people during this difficult time,” a spokesperson said about the gesture.
Along with Nintendo and Bungie, PlayStation has also recently ceased trading their games with the Russian market for the foreseeable future, and Sony also announced they had donated $2 million to support victims of this tragedy, a positive gesture, all things considered.