War in Ukraine: This is how the game developers react

According to the Council of Europe, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which violates international law, is also affecting the gaming landscape. On February 24, the Russian military launched an invasion that is now spreading across the country and has already claimed numerous lives.

According to the UN Refugee Commission, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing the violence. Several game developers in and outside of Ukraine have expressed their horror at the situation, expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and made public statements asking for help.

What do the developers say?

Many studios are worried about their employees and are calling for an immediate end to the violence. Help and donation campaigns are also called for. At this point we summarize some of the statements and reactions from the industry.

Studios in Ukraine

• Frogwares (Sherlock Holmes, The Sinking City): The developers emphasize on Twitter, Ukraine is a peaceful country and Russia violates its sovereignty. It calls for an end to Russia’s aggression.
• GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2): The studio based in the capital Kiev calls for donations to the Ukrainian military on. The future is uncertain, but we stand by the armed forces of Ukraine.
• Sengi Games (The Serpent Rogue): in one Tweet an die Fans it means that you won’t be able to help them much with the game at the moment. Russia is attacking the citizens of Ukraine, the statement said.
• Ubisoft Kiew (Rainbow Six Extraction, AC Valhalla): in one Statement to IGN It is said that one tries to protect the employees as best as possible and monitors the situation very closely.
• Yevhen8 (Ostriv): The studio behind the city-builder, set in 18th-century Ukraine, posted an appeal for donations with a List of Charity Institutions in Ukraine.

Studios outside of Ukraine

• 11bit Games (This War of Mine): The Polish studio shows itself shocked by the attack to the neighboring country and wants to donate all proceeds from the anti-war game This War of Mine to the Red Cross in Ukraine for the next seven days.
• GOG: The shop operator joins 11bit Games and temporarily wants all income from This War of Mine and all DLCs via the GOG page also hand them over to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
• Raw Fury (Sable, Bad North, West of Dead): The indie publisher shows solidarity on Twitter with Ukraine and people affected by the war and wants to provide financial help himself. It’s going to Donations requested through the Red Cross
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• Bungie (Destiny 2): The US developer expresses his support to the Ukrainians affected by violence. One will all income from the current Game2Give initiative donate to humanitarian organizations within the first 48 hours.
• Draw Distance (Serial Cleaner, Vampire: Shadow of New York): The indie studio from Poland strongly condemns the Russian attack. The greatest concern is for the safety of Ukrainians and their families.
• Riot (League of Legends, Valorant): The “Valorant Champions Tour” esports tournament has been paused for the time being. The players, casters, fans and employees affected by the crisis now have priority Statement.
• CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher): The Polish studio is also shocked by the attacks in Ukraine and donates one million Polish zloty (about 215,000 dollars) to the Polish humanitarian aid organization perspective
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Shooter developers 4A Games (Metro series) and Vostok Games (Survarium) tweeted photos of the Ukrainian flag to speak out against the Russian invasion. 4A Games had already relocated from Kiev to Malta in 2014 due to the unstable situation in eastern Ukraine.

link to Twitter content

Meanwhile, several studios appear to be beginning to evacuate their staff from Ukraine. For example, the boss of the publisher Tinybuild (Hello Neighbor, Cartel Tycoon, Potion Craft) reports on twitter:

Like the industry magazine Axios reportsother studios had flown their employees out of Ukraine days before the attack.