Industry figures are supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia’s actions
This week, the Russian military invaded Ukraine, as part of what Russian president Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation.” The invasion and missile strikes have resulted in the displacement and death of Ukrainian troops and citizens.
Over the last couple of days, games industry figures, studios, and publishers have been putting their support out for Ukraine. This has included both Ukrainian developers like Frogwares and GSC Game World issuing statements on the invasion, and companies across the world calling for support.
GSC Game World, the studio behind the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, shared a special aid account and called on “all of our colleagues in the gaming industry” to share their post. 4A Games, makers of the Metro series of games shared a statement and call for support as well.
“We can’t just stand by,” Frogwares said on its Twitter account. “Russia attacks our homeland and denies the sovereignty of Ukraine. We are trying to stay safe, but this is war, there are no two ways about it. We call on everyone to force Putin to withdraw from our lands.”
https://t.co/iNiwMXrC81 pic.twitter.com/JaOa6JQxEA
— NAVI (@natusvincere) February 24, 2022
Esports organization Natus Vincere, a.k.a. Navi, is based out of Ukraine and also put out a statement and shared a donation link. Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, a Ukrainian player for Natus Vincere’s CS:GOÂ team, gave a speech at IEM Katowice calling for peace and solidarity.
Publishers like Crytivo and tinyBuild are also offering help for their Ukrainian employees and partners to get to safety themselves. Esports organization Team Liquid has also opened up housing support for friends and colleagues who are stuck and unable to get home.
Developers and publishers have amped up calls for support as well. Polish dev 11 bit studios announced that all profits over the coming week from This War of Mine, on all stores and platforms, will go to a special fund for the Ukrainian Red Cross to directly support victims of war.
Amanita Design is donating its next weeks’ earnings from Machinarium, CHUCHEL, and Creaks to a nonprofit organization aiding those affected by the invasion. And State of Play will be donating its next weeks’ earnings from its games to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
11 bit studios team statement:#FuckTheWar#Ukraine @RedCrossUkraine @Ukraine pic.twitter.com/bVqBlZnR8j
— 11 bit studios (@11bitstudios) February 24, 2022
After Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted in support of Ukraine, Bungie announced it is donating 100% of the first 48 hours of its Game2Give drive to aid humanitarian efforts. Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red announced it is donating 1 million PLN to humanitarian aid efforts. Publisher Raw Fury is donating to the Ukrainian Red Cross. And a bundle is currently being put together by developer Brandon Sheffield, with a 50/50 split for Ukrainian support and support for trans youth in Texas.