Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted an open letter to major game developers, urging them to ban Russian players.
Fedorov tagged the major video game companies Xbox and PlayStation in his tweet. He stated that a temporary ban on all Russian players would “motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”
- “The enemy must suffer significant losses. But we need your support. ... I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts,” said Fedorov.
- Fedorov said that modern technology is the best weapon they have against Russia, “In 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and missiles.”
- The letter also called on the cancellation of any esport tournaments happening on Russian soil, along with the removal of the country’s teams.
- At the time of reporting, none of these companies have responded to the statement.
What this means: Russia isn’t the largest market for either Sony or Microsoft — the companies that own PlayStation and Xbox — but a potential ban would result in a large number of players being removed from the gaming communities, according to Yahoo.
Esports organizations take action: BLAST Premier, an esports league based in Copenhagen, announced Tuesday that “no Russian-based team will be invited to play in our events for the foreseeable future.”
- Finnish tournament organizer Elisa Esports also announced that “all Russian organizations are suspended from participation in Elisa Esports until further notice.”