It was recently revealed that the Ukrainian government plans to issue a petition to prevent Valve, Sony, and Microsoft from selling Atomic Heart, the Soviet-themed, post-apocalyptic game, in Ukraine.
Developed by Mundfish, a Russian studio, Atomic Heart depicts a highly-trained soldier fighting for survival against a robot uprising in a romanticised, utopian rendition of the Soviet Union. In Atomic Heart’s universe, the Soviet Union became remarkably prosperous, annexing surrounding nations and becoming a technological marvel of a nation.
Now, the Ukrainian government is pleading for the game to be removed from digital storefronts – but only in Ukraine.
Atomic Heart in Hot Water
In recent weeks, Atomic Heart’s developers have been accused of farming personal data, criticised for featuring racist art in their game, and questioned for some of the more disappointing points of the delivery of Atomic Heart itself.
In the most recent update on the circumstances surrounding Atomic Heart and Mundfish (seen in Yahoo), the Ukrainian government has expressed its intention to plead a case to Sony, Microsoft, and Valve, with the express intention of halting sales of Atomic Heart in the country.
Today, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation in Ukraine, Alex Bornyakov, said passionately:
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.
Reportedly, the game has been taken off the shelves in Ukraine, but digital purchases are still allowed – which is exactly what the Ukrainian government wants to stop.
Bornyakov went on to expressly state that the development of Atomic Heart was made possible by Russian investment into the studio and that the developers, Mundfish, have not openly condemned Pujtin’s regime and the ‘bloody war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine’.
Recently, Atomic Heart has found itself bowing to the weight of controversy and bad press, and just days ago, a dev build leaked online, with the entirety of the game’s files being uploaded for anybody to download.
There’s even speculation that a sexualised robotic character featured in Atomic Heart was created with a reference to a former Ukrainian Prime Minister.
At the time of publishing this article, Insider Gaming has reached out to Mundfish and Focus Entertainment for comment.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of New World’s new season-based operating model.
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
The studio is actually Cypriot ran by a bunch of Russians. Saying that it’s a Russian studio isn’t correct.