Sony has taken the decision to withhold the sale of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare via the PlayStation Store in Russia.
A statement from Activision issued to Eurogamer reads as follows: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a fictional game that has been thoughtfully created to entertain fans and tell a compelling narrative. Sony Interactive Entertainment has decided not to sell Modern Warfare on the PlayStation Store in Russia at this time. We look forward to launching Modern Warfare digitally in Russia on 25 October on PC via Battle.net and on console via Xbox."
Meanwhile, GamesIndustry has secured a statement from Sony itself on the matter, though it doesn't tell us much. "Sony Interactive Entertainment has decided not to sell Modern Warfare on the PlayStation Store in Russia at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Considering the game is releasing in the country on other platforms, it's a little strange that Sony has refused to sell Modern Warfare digitally. The obvious conclusion we can draw is that the single player campaign, which apparently features conflicts in fictitious countries, runs a little too close to the bone. It wouldn't be the first time the series has caused a stir where Russia is concerned; we hardly need to mention the infamous 'No Russian' stage in Modern Warfare 2 on PS3.
Of course, there could be a far more innocuous reason for this decision, but odds are it's something to do with the content of the story. The phrase "at this time" in both the above statements leads us to believe the Infinity Ward shooter will release in Russia eventually. Will the PS4 release be censored in Russia? The game launches in just two days, and we've hardly seen a smidge of the campaign. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.
[source eurogamer.net, via gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 21
But....if that's the case and it is a story reason....why just one version?
This reeks of something similar to what has happened to other games and some um...."changes" compared to other platforms...
Worth bearing in mind that the other companies that CoD will available on are American, maybe the Russian government felt it could influence Sony more then the others.
¯(ツ)/¯ well that means no Russian digital ps4
Congratulations Sony... You've now made me sort've intrigued about a Call Of Duty story. Thanks for that 😂
surely they'll still be able to buy it on disc in russia though?. i suspect it's about something more than just story content.
So the Russians are the bad guys again? I was hoping for something more original lol
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
Exactly. Controversy leads to sales. I am now more interested to play the SP of a FPS and i haven't said that in over a decade.
I expect a news worthy event in the game AKA "No Russian"
@AFCC Would have made a change if America were the bad guys but you don't see that often if at all.
@AdamNovice Really? They’re the bad guys in my favourite program of all time: the news.
@nessisonett touche mate lol
Its interesting that a lot of the press was crying when the devs said the game isn't trying to make a political statement and it's just entertainment. Are they (the people who said the game is political) going to flip flop now and say politics should not be taken into account?
What a bizarre decision. Especially if , as it sounds, it will still be available to buy on disc.
This is an utterly idiotic decision and I'm really, really getting tired of Sony's bullsh*t since shifting control to Western branches of the company.
it sure is a bizarre decision, activision sell the game on pc and xbox in russia, so this cant have anything to do with the story in the campaign.
@Gamer83 - Totally agree, ever since SIEA became the world police of gaming morality it's been one idiotic decision after another.
Let me get this straight:
Xbox disc and digital will be available in Russia.
PC Version will be available in Russia.
PS4 disc will be available in Russia.
It's just the PS4 digital version being delayed?
I am flummoxed
allegedly the thrust of the campaign involves rebel forces fighting a russian occupation of a fictional country and depicts russian soldiers murdering a young girl's father at one point. so some apprehension might be understandable given the sensitive/political nature of ukrainian/crimean occupation. maybe it's not fictional enough.. , but presumably it's been certified by whatever the russian equivalent of PEGI is.. MW2 didn't release at all on consoles there.
when does the review embargo lift? so we can find out for ourselves if it's controversial or not?. less than 24 hours to release (in Australia) and no sign of reviews seems a tad suspicious, especially when there seems to be more of a positive buzz surrounding a CoD release in a long while.
Oh come on, there’s been countless games with wars going on in hundreds of countries. They weren’t banned. Did you ban CoD 1 in Germany Sony? No you didn’t so why this treatment here?
We know this is fiction, it’s nothing personal, whereas wars are (unfortunately) real so why do we have to tip-toe around the subject with examples like this. It’s pathetic and I doubt even the average Russian would be bothered by this.
Sony are really starting to annoy me with their over-sensitive attitude these days treating us like we can’t decide for ourselves...
What about physically?
@AFCC Original? In a COD game? That's like asking for Nintendo to share their 1st party titles. It's like asking for Sony to support crossplay without question. It's like asking politicians not to lie!
@AdamNovice now that would be amazing! And why not? They have been the bad guys in many situations, and I mean this with no offence, it's just how the world works.
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