Supercell and CI Games stop sales in Russia and Belarus
Finnish studio to suspend existing players, while Sniper Ghost Warrior maker moves to pull future sales of its back catalogue
Finnish developer Supercell and Polish studio CI Games have both withdrawn sales and downloads of their games in Russia and Belarus amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In a statement, Supercell said that it has removed its games from app stores in the two countries, and existing players will be suspended with the next client updates.
Sniper Ghost Warrior developer CI Games said it is also ceasing all sales of its games in Russia and Belarus "for the foreseeable future," and is working with its partners in the coming days to pull its back catalogue from stores in the coming days. It'll also halt future physical stock deliveries of its games.
"While we appreciate this might affect individuals who are not involved and do not condone the invasion, unfortunately, we feel this is a necessary step in a combined act of allegiance for our neighbouring country, Ukraine," the studio said.
Supercell's sales halt follows the studio's efforts to raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and it said it would match donations up to €1 million.
According to data from Sensor Tower, Supercell's Brawl Stars was the top-grossing game in Russia in 2021, and ranked third in terms of downloads. IDG Consulting estimated that the Russian games market alone generated around $3.4 billion last year.
The two studios join an ever-expanding list of games companies taking action to support Ukraine, which you can keep track of here.