Esports Brands Pull Events, Block Gamers in Russia

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, many gaming and esports brands have taken a public stance, whether through condemnations or donations. Events have been postponed and partnerships with Russian and Belarusian companies broken off. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has used Twitter to call on all game developers and esports platforms to block Russian support, specifically tagging Microsoft-owned Xbox and Sony's Playstation. https://twitter.com/FedorovMykhailo/status/1498945221337534469 "The Russian Federation has carried out a deceptive and outrageous military attack on my country," Fedorov wrote. "Just imagine, in 2022, cruise missiles attack residential neighborhoods, kindergartens and hospitals in the heart of Europe." Fedorov went on to say that Ukraine needs the support of the gaming industry, arguing that in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the dated tools of warfare: tanks, rocket launchers and missiles. "I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything to protect Ukraine, Europe and finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression—and I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams and gamers in all international esports events, and cancel all international events holding on the territory of Russia and Belarus," he wrote. Fedorov's comments follow many esports brands analyzing their relationships with Russian companies and partners. Cyprus-based video game developer WarGaming parted ways with creative director Sergey “SerB” Burkatovskiy after the employee posted a pro-Russia statement on his Facebook account: “I support the operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and the LPR. The rest are nuances.” Partnerships and relationships paused While WarGaming's actions involved a specific employee, many brands have reconsidered their overall partnerships within Russia and Belarus. Last weekend, Ukrainian esports company WePlay Holding announced that it had terminated all partnership agreements with companies from Russia and Belarus. "On Feb. 24, the Russian Federation committed an act of attack against the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine," said WePlay Holding in a statement. "In connection with these events, WePlay Holding cannot stand aside and has terminated all types of cooperation with legal entities from the Russian Federation. Starting from now we won’t advertise any brands of Russian origin in our broadcasts and for our audience." Gaming tournament Blast Premier, which hosts esports series for the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, announced that no Russia-based teams will be invited to play in its events for the foreseeable future. NFT and virtual in-game items company DMarket severed all of its relationships with Russia and Belarus due to the Ukraine invasion. Accounts from previously registered users from those two areas are now frozen, and the Russian ruble was also removed from the platform. Top esports team Natus Vincere cut ties with Russian esports holding outfit ESForce, which represents top talent including RuHub, Cybersport.ru and Virtus.pro. https://twitter.com/natusvincere/status/1498651908378136580 Other gaming actions connected to the war Riot Games postponed the third week of tournaments on its Valorant Champions Tour across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. https://twitter.com/valesports_emea/status/1496904039249989638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496904039249989638%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.invenglobal.com%2Farticles%2F16560%2Fvct-emea-challengers-matches-delayed-amid-russian-military-action-in-ukraine Bungie donated all of the proceeds of the first 48 hours of its Game2Give drive to humanitarian aid efforts. Polish creator 11 Bit Studios denounced the war in a statement posted on Twitter. The gaming company also announced that it would donate all profits from the game This War of Mine and all its DLCs on all platforms and stores to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

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Rafael Canton

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Rafael Canton