In the early morning hours of February 24, Russian troops launched a full-scale assault on Ukraine attacking the country from the north, east, and south. The attacks came after months of escalating rhetoric and the build-up of Russian military forces near Ukrainian borders. Since the beginning of the invasion, more than hundred Ukrainian citizens, both soldiers and civilians, have died.
Among the many Ukrainians who are asking for support amid the escalating geopolitical support are game developers based in the country. Ukraine is home to more than 400 game-based companies and also branch offices of several game studios from Europe, Israel, and other countries.
Crysis 4 maker Crytek World of Tanks and World of Tanks developer Wargaming both have a subsidiary there. Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft also has two offices in Ukraine, one in Kyiv and one in Odessa.
On Thursday, GSC Game World, the developers of the Stalker franchise posted a message on Twitter asking to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Our country woke up with the sounds of explosions and weapons fire, but is ready to defend its freedom and independence ... We thus address all of our colleagues in the gaming industry, players, bloggers or anyone who sees this post in their newsfeed: Share this, do not stand aside,” the post reads.
In response to the situation in Ukraine, Polish developer 11 Bit Studios, maker of Frostpunk and This War of Mine, announced that it will donate all proceeds from sales of the latter to the Ukranian Red Cross for the next week.
Cybersecurity Help’s statement on the critical situation in Ukraine
On February 24, people in many cities and towns across Ukraine woke up to the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the country. Such actions are unacceptable, political ambitions of any man aren’t worth of blood, tears, and destruction of millions of lives. We give our full support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times. Stop war!