Epic Games is suspending trade in Russia in response to the ongoing Ukraine invasion, though Fortnite will remain online in the region. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to unfold, many gaming industry titans have taken direct action in support. Responses include games like Battlefield 2042, which have removed in-game items, as well as large companies like Ubisoft, which have provided additional funds to Ukrainian employees to help with relocation efforts.
Companies in the gaming and technology industries have expressed their solidarity with Ukraine, providing financial aid to those affected by the invasion and taking direct economic action against Ukraine. Russia. The Pokémon Company and CD Projekt Red are among the companies that have provided significant financial aid in support of Ukraine, and game developer John Romero announced the first new DOOM 2 level in nearly 30 years, with proceeds going to humanitarian efforts. In addition to these generous responses, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked gaming companies to block Russian accounts.
In a post from the Epic Games Press Room Twitter account, Fortnite will stay online at Russiabut I knowwill stop trading” in the region. Epic has explained that, although its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine will result in the suspension of trade in all its games, the publisher “is not blocking access” to games like Fortnite because it believes that the free world must “keep all lines of dialogue open” This means that Fortnite V-Bucks will not be sold in Russia, and it is also possible that the Epic Games Store will stop selling its games in the region, although the publisher has not confirmed what his exact actions will be.
Epic’s response is similar to Nintendo’s when it suspended eShop payments in Russia, though it was unclear if the game company had a direct role in the suspension of its digital store. The suspension was blamed on Nintendo eShop’s third-party payment service, which temporarily stopped processing rubles. Since its invasion, Russia has cracked down on social media in its bid to prevent the spread of unfiltered information, threatening up to 15 years in prison for anti-war sentiments. Epic’s statement not to block access could have been a reference to this, though it’s unclear what exactly the company will do to keep this dialogue open.