The Ukrainian government wants “toxic” Atomic Heart pulled from Microsoft, Sony and Valve digital stores in their country and worldwide.
Atomic Heart is an action RPG that wears the influence of BioShock as well as the Wolfenstein series on its sleeve. Its story takes place in an alternative history in which the Russians defeated Nazi Germany in WW2. It also sees that player assume control of a KGB agent.
Atomic Heart dev has already faced controversy
However, despite Atomic Heart reviews being quite favourable, the game hasn’t been without its controversy. In January 2023, Russian developer Mundfish (currently based in Cyprus) was criticised in a statement following accusations of being funded by its government.
What’s more, Mundfish faced further backlash by addressing the invasion of Ukraine, but not actually mentioning Ukraine directly. Furthermore, as a result of allegations against the developer, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Atomic Heart composer Mick Gordon donated his entire fee to the Red Cross appeal.
The Ukraine government demands action
However, this week, which just so happens to be the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government will demand that Atomic Heart be removed from sale in not only its homeland but also worldwide.
As reported by VGC (via PCGamesN), in a statement issued to a Ukrainian website, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Alex Bornyakov has urged distributors to restrict the sale of Atomic Heart.
“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,” said Bornyakov.
He continued: “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. We also want to emphasise that the game developers have not publicly condemned the Putin regime and the bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine.”
Will the game be pulled from sale?
Will Atomic Heart be pulled from sale in Ukraine? It’s a strong possibility. However, whether it is pulled from other countries could be another matter entirely.
Atomic Heart is available now for PC, PlayStation and Xbox. It is also available via Xbox Game Pass. However, as a heads up, an Atomic Heart update comes in at a whopping 67GB on top of its installation.
Finally, what are your thoughts on this sensitive topic? Let us know across our social media channels.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?
