Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs calls for Microsoft, Sony, and Valve to ban the game over concerns about the game’s story and content.
After the release of Atomic Heart, Alexander Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs has called upon companies like Microsoft, Valve, and Sony to ban the sale of digital copies of Atomic Heart in Ukraine. This concerns developer Mundfish and its connections to Russia and the harvesting of player data.
The developer of Atomic Heart has been described as being a Russian developer by certain Russian media outlets. However, the company itself insists that they have international connections and that it is currently based in Cyprus. The company has supposedly received money from Gazprom, a Russian-owned energy corporation. It has also been claimed that they were collecting user data through their own website and selling it to the country. This claim however, has been insistently denied by Mundfish.
Mundfish also held a Russian press release back in November 2022, this was also the time when the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws were being enforced, alongside the ongoing war with Ukraine. When asked to give their thoughts on the conflict, the company stated that it was a “pro-peace organization.”
As a result of all these various controversies, Ukraine would like to restrict Atomic Heart’s distribution within its borders and beyond. Alexander Bornyakov said, in a statement given to Dev.ua, that there are concerns about the toxicity of the games, as well as the collection of user data and the use of the money that the game will make as it could be used to fund the ongoing war. While the Russian investment has not been confirmed or denied, Ukraines concerns are understandable and are rooted in potential harms.
It should be noted that the composer for Atomic Heart, Mick Gordon did donate the money from his fee to the Australian Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal fund. Atomic Heart is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
