Late last week, Niantic announced that it was pulling its massively online alternate reality games from Russia and Belarus following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company made the announcement, which affects Pokemon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Ingress, on Twitter.
“We stand with the global community in hoping for peace and a rapid resolution to the violence and suffering in Ukraine,” the studio wrote. “Niantic’s games are no longer available for download in Russia and Belarus, and gameplay will also be suspended there shortly.”
Niantic is effectively joining a long list of game developers and distributors who have already shut down operations in the sanctioned countries. And Niantic isn’t merely stopping sales because of sanctions and bank inaccessibility; it’s also made its games unplayable for the aggressor countries altogether as well as donating funds to “humanitarian organizations focused on supporting the people and refugees of Ukraine.”
Further reading:
• Wargaming launches multiple charitable bundles for its slate of titles to benefit Ukraine
• World of Warcraft’s charity pets for Ukraine raise more than $1.5 million
• Indie time-travel MMO Into the Echo releases interactive lore website experience
• World of Warcraft introduces new charity pets to support BlueCheck Ukraine
• War Thunder welcomes Minecraft to the ‘gaming playerbases leaking military secrets’ club
• Ukraine-based STALKER 2 dev studio has been hacked and blackmailed by a pro-Russian group
• MY.GAMES says it will ‘exit the Russian market’ and offload Russian licenses
• Russian security forces apparently killed STALKER larpers they thought were real terrorists
• Russian soldier captured by Ukrainian forces claims he joined the army to pay off a World of Tanks-related debt
• Roblox removes games depicting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but only after a BBC inquiry
• Wargaming opens new offices in Europe after Russia exodus
• Whatever happened to the oft-delayed Corepunk? It’s suspended Russian region support
• Elteria Adventures continues development in spite of half the team ‘hiding in bombshelters’ in Ukraine
• Russian Dota 2 esports player gets his team banned and his contract ended over support for Ukrainian invasion
• From the Depths: Everything we know about Wargaming’s exit from Russia
• Daybreak’s EG7 intends to sell Innova subsidiary and relocate Toadman Interactive studio in a pull-out from Russia
• Trove kicks off this year’s Bunfest Easter event and releases a bundle to benefit Ukraine
• Overwatch alters one of Zarya’s legendary skins to avoid any possible association with the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Massively Uplifting: How gamers are bringing humanitarian relief to Ukraine
• Wargaming will suffer ‘substantial losses’ in corporate exit from Russia and Belarus
• EVE Online players raised over $500K to benefit Ukraine in latest PLEX for Good charity drive
• International sanctions cause Steam payment snarl-ups for indie game devs in Russia and Ukraine
• War Thunder’s chat has been disabled for a full month since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• Albion Online tweaks controller functionality, removes Russia-themed guild logos
• Fortnite and its community have now raised $100M for Ukrainian relief
• Fortnite’s profit donation efforts have already raised $50M for Ukrainian aid
• New World is apparently blocking players in Russia and Belarus
• Fortnite’s new season adds Doctor Strange as Epic Games raises millions for Ukraine aid
• Lord of the Rings Online studio says payments from Russia are blocked
• Niantic suspends Pokemon Go and Ingress in Russia, donates to support Ukraine
• Kyiv-based Corepunk studio says it’s lost contact with some staff stuck in Ukraine
• EVE Online begins its PLEX for Good charitable campaign to help Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis
• Wizard101’s KingsIsle sells Ukraine charity bundle, proceeds to reclaim EU publishing
• Destiny 2’s Bungie halts sales to Russia, Gamigo begins Ukraine charity initiative in multiple MMOs
• EVE Online studio CCP Games will run a PLEX for Good charity campaign for Ukraine
• Itch.io’s Bundle for Ukraine, Cyberpunk 2077 review-bombing, and Twitch withholds pay to Russian streamers
• Isometric MMO Broken Ranks lays out content roadmap, raises funds for Ukrainian relief
• EA and Microsoft announce end of sales to Russia, Hi-Rez reroutes Russian profits to Ukrainian aid
• Activision-Blizzard cuts sales to Russia, pledges support for Ukraine
• Ukraine implores game companies to block Russian esports participation
• Zenith’s Ramen VR joins chorus of MMO studios donating to support Ukraine
• Neverwinter parent company donates $2M in aid to Ukraine, IGDA calls on industry to condemn invasion
• Conan Chop Chop launches today as Funcom donates $100K of its proceeds to Ukraine Red Cross
• Wargaming pledges aid to Ukrainian Red Cross, sacks pro-invasion developer
• Elder Scrolls Online players stage in-game peace walks through Cyrodiil in support of Ukraine
• Battlefield 2042 yanks Russian helicopter reward in light of Ukraine invasion
• MMO Business Roundup: The gaming industry reacts to the Ukraine crisis
• Elysium gears up for Nostalrius emu character transfers and relaunch
• NCsoft appears to be blocking former Soviet states from WildStar
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