Featured Image Credit: Sony
Topics: PlayStation, World News, Sony
Sony Interactive Entertainment is the latest in a long line of video game and tech companies to announce that it will be halting sales of its products in Russia.
This comes in response Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocents and displaced a great deal more. Over the past week or so a large number of companies have stepped up to remove their services from Russia, including Netflix, Microsoft, CD Projekt, Disney, Warner Bros., and Nintendo.
You may remember that SIE quietly made the decision to remove the PlayStation-exclusive Gran Turismo 7 from sale in Russia last week, but the company has now issued a statement on the matter.
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"Sony Interactive Entertainment joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine," the company wrote. "We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7, and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia."
SIE will also be donating $2 million to various humanitarian relief efforts, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children.
Sony's actions come nearly a week after Ukraine's deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on Xbox and PlayStation to remove its games from Russian storefronts.
"The armed forces and citizens are defending Ukraine till the end! The whole world is repelling the aggressor through the imposition of sanctions - the enemy must suffer significant losses," Fedorov wrote in an open letter. "But we need your support - in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers (hrad) and missiles.
"I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything to protect Ukraine, Europe and finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression - and I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams and gamers in all international esports events and cancel all international events holding on the territory of Russia and Belarus.
"We are sure that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression."