The Ukraine government has warned against the purchase of the newly-released Atomic Heart, claiming the game should be pulled from sale due to allegations that its developer, Mundfish, has strong ties to the Russian government and its unjust war effect.
Ahead of the game’s launch, a report from AIN.Capital surfaced a peculiar clause in the game’s privacy policy which seemed to indicate the studio would collect user data, and deliver it to Russian state authorities. Russian mobilisation laws were also reportedly mentioned in this policy, and as AIN.Capital pointed out, these are the laws under which soldiers are being recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine.
In response to these claims, Mundfish said its privacy statement was outdated, but did not deny claims it was based out of Moscow, and supported by the Russian government.
Read: Atomic Heart composer Mick Gordon donates fee to Ukraine aid
In response to these allegations, which have yet to be fully investigated, the Ukraine government has publicly labelled Atomic Heart as ‘toxic’.
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, has said he will pen a letter to Microsoft, Sony, and Valve in an effort to get the game removed from video game storefronts in Ukraine. He has also urged other countries to consider doing the same.
‘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,’ Bornyakov said, in a statement shared with Dev.au and PCGamesN.
‘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. According to media reports, the game’s development was funded by Russian enterprises. Therefore, we call for all users worldwide to avoid this game.’
Bornyakov further pointed out that Mundfish had not ‘publicly condemned the Putin regime and the bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine’.
While the company did state it was ‘undeniably a pro-peace organisation against violence against people’ in response to these initial allegations, it also claimed it did ‘not comment on politics or religion.’ Unfortunately, some countries do not have the same luxury.
We’ll likely hear more about the allegations against Atomic Heart, and further action taken by the Ukraine government, in future.
