On 24 February 2022, Russia began an invasion of Ukraine following years of ramping tensions. Since then, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homeland and hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed.
Following the outbreak of this tragic conflict, the video game industry has been a huge player in condemning Putin’s invasion and offering support to the people of Ukraine. Voicing their opposition to the war, several major companies such as Sony and Activision Blizzard have halted the sale of their games and services in Russia. While this is unlikely to have a negative impact on Russia’s economy, it sets a precedent for companies in all sectors and shows that developers have their eyes open to the world around them. Moreover, the likes of CD Projekt Red and The Pokémon Company have announced donations to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Even independent developers, in spite of their limited resources, have found ways to fundraise for Ukraine, empowering their fans to make a difference. This collective response shows that despite not being hailed as such, video games are a massive part of our cultural landscape and have the power to be a force for good.
Booted out
Poland’s CD Projekt Red, best known for The Witcher series and CyberPunk 2077, became the first major developer to completely cease sales of its games in Russia on 4 March. Many others have followed suit, including Epic Games, Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive. In the case of Electronic Arts, the creator of the FIFA series has even ceased sales of Ultimate Team items relating to Russia. Additionally, it “has initiated processes” of booting all Russian teams out of its current FIFA and NHL games.
However, this admirable condemnation of Putin’s invasion is unlikely to dent Russia’s economy. Adding perspective to this, gamesindustry.biz discovered that Russia’s video game market was worth $3.4 billion in 2021, accounting for less than 1% of the country’s spending. Furthermore, $1.4 billion of this money was spent on mobile games, yet at the time of writing this piece only a handful of the leading mobile developers have pulled their games from app stores in Russia. While Finnish developer Supercell is an exception, its multiplayer battle arena title Brawl Stars being the top grossing mobile game in Russia, more mobile studios need to take this approach.
Still, the unequivocal stance of console and PC focused developers should count for something. To that end, Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto V receives the country’s third highest number of monthly users, making it difficult to see how the removal of purchases in GTA Online won’t do damage to Russia’s games market.
In addition to this, the industry’s response does show that it’s listening to fans and, more importantly, politicians. After all, less than a week after the invasion began, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov publicly urged “all game development companies”, including Xbox and PlayStation, to “temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts” in an official tweet.
Significantly, CD Projekt Red’s withdrawal from the Russian market came two days after this, with Microsoft and Sony following shortly afterwards. With Russia reported to have changed its piracy laws in retaliation to these boycotts, it remains to be seen whether these moves will have their desired effect. Nevertheless, the response certainly sets a precedent for the industry and companies in other sectors.
Games for good
Outside of this, the withdrawal from Russia has shown that games can be a force for good, even if traditional media often suggests otherwise. This is something that even avid gamers needed reminding of, given that the gaming industry has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent times. Most notably, allegations of systemic sexism and sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard saw a civil case filed against the Overwatch developer last July, eroding trust in the industry from gamers and non-gamers alike. The scandal overshadowed Microsoft’s record-breaking acquisition of the company this January, a testament to the harrowing nature of the statements given by former Activision Blizzard employees.
With competitors Game Riot paying $100m to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit at the end of last year, it’s been made clear that this problem pervades the industry. While change is urgently needed and the gaming world still has a long way to go, its collective reaction to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine should inspire hope. Above all, it demonstrates that games, just like any form of media, can have a positive influence on the world.
Undoubtedly, the industry’s biggest impact in this conflict has been through its donations to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Again, CD Projekt Red was one of the first major developers to take action, donating one million PLN (roughly $240,000) to a Polish humanitarian charity providing aid to Ukrainian citizens. Since then, the Pokémon Company, SEGA and Elden Ring publisher BANDAI NAMCO have made or pledged meaningful donations to humanitarian charities working directly with Ukraine.
A response for humanity
A nation rich in culture, Ukraine is home to several game development studios, including Sherlock Holmes series and The Sinking City developer Frogwares. Given this, many of the games we love are made by people caught in the middle of this conflict, and perhaps this is what has magnified the war to the gaming community. While Ubisoft and Plarium have headquarters in France and Israel respectively, it’s worth noting that they also have studios in Ukraine. In addition to making donations to humanitarian charities, both of these companies have prioritised the welfare of their employees in Ukraine, providing them with financial and emotional support along with securing optional shelter. In an industry where “crunch culture” and developers being forced to work themselves to the bone is the norm, this is heartening to see.
As you would expect, ingenuity and innovation have been at the forefront of this charitable response. Although Doom II first released in 1994, famed co-creator John Romero has created a new level for the iconic first-person shooter to raise money for Ukrainian citizens. Costing €5.00, as Romero now resides in Ireland, 100% of the revenue generated from the level is being donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. According to PC Gamer, the new map, aptly titled One Humanity, has already raised over €25,000. Yet this fundraising effort isn’t the only of its kind, with Polish developer 11 Bit Studios raising roughly $700,000 for the Ukrainian Red Cross by donating a week’s worth of revenue from its anti-war game This War of Mine. Cross-platform game engine Unity is among others taking this approach, donating all of the proceeds generated by its Ukraine Mega Bundle until the end of March.
Bundle of joy
While household names in the world of gaming have played a key role in providing financial support to Ukrainian citizens, this has been reflected by individuals and organisations from across the industry. Arguably, the most impactful effort has come from independent developers, many of whom have small teams and limited financial resources. To add context to this, Necrosoft Games director Brandon Sheffield invited indie developers to submit their games to a massive digital collection which would be sold to raise money for Ukrainian charities. Consisting of nearly 1,000 items, including almost 600 digital video games and over 300 analog tabletop RPGs among other products, the resulting “Bundle For Ukraine” launched on 8 March. With the bundle costing only $10 on itch.io, (although customers can donate more if they wish) Sheffield’s original target was to raise $100,000, with the selected charities being given 100% of the proceeds. However, it surpassed this goal in less than an hour and is close to raising $5 million at the time of writing this piece, with there still a few days left before it goes offline. Empowering fans to use their love of games to make a difference, this fundraiser has seen over 300,000 people make contributions. More than anything, it demonstrates the positive influence that games can have on the world when they’re used for good.
While the war rages on and the video game industry can do little to change this, its compassion for Ukraine has set a standard for other sectors to follow. In terms of its commitment to improve workplace cultures and inclusivity, the gaming community has a lot of work left to do. However, we’ve seen that this rapidly growing form of media can do amazing things in the world, with it able to actively connect us to people we’ve never met before.
“Video games are the quintessential social texts of our present cultural moment.” — Steven E. Jones
Even though some people still need convincing of this, games are a massive part of our cultural landscape and deserve the same respect given to films and books for their power to inspire.
Words by Julius Lawless-Master
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