The government of Ukraine has asked that platforms operated by Valve, Microsoft and Sony pull the recently-released Atomic Heart from sale.
That's according to local tech site Dev.au – spotted by PCGamesN – which reports that the country's Ministry of Digital Affairs has requested the game be removed owing to the alleged ties that developer Mundfish has with the Russian state.
Previously there have been allegations that Mundfish passes user data to Russian intelligence, as well as it being funded by GEM Capital. That outfit has ties to the Russian state via Gazprom and VTB Bank.
“Regarding the situation with the release of the game Atomic Heart, which has Russian roots and romanticises communist ideology and the Soviet Union, The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine will send an official letter to Sony, Microsoft, and Valve requesting a ban on selling digital versions of this game in Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov wrote.
“We also urge limiting the distribution of this game in other countries due to its toxicity, potential data collection of users, and the potential use of money raised from game purchases to conduct a war against Ukraine.”
The statement continued: “According to media reports, the game’s development was funded by Russian enterprises,” the statement continues. “Therefore, we call for all users worldwide to avoid this game. We also want to emphasise that the game developers have not publicly condemned the Putin regime and the bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine.”
PCGamesInsider.biz has reached out to Mundfish for comment