Niantic has announced that it has stopped downloads of its games in Russia and Belarus, with gameplay being suspended shortly. Last night, Niantic announced that its augmented reality games Pokemon Go, Ingress, and Pikmin Bloom are no longer available for download in Russia and Belarus, in response to those countries’ invasion of Ukraine last month. Additionally, gameplay for those games will be suspended shortly. The decision came as more and more companies suspend sales of their products in Russia and Belarus, with many international corporation also suspending business operations in the countries. We will note that Apple’s App Store previously suspended purchases in Russia, while Google Play discontinued its subscription and payment services, so it may have been hard for many players in Russia to download Pokemon Go or make in-game purchases already.
We stand with the global community in hoping for peace and a rapid resolution to the violence and suffering in Ukraine. Niantic’s games are no longer available for download in Russia and Belarus, and gameplay will also be suspended there shortly.
We are heartbroken and we feel compelled to do what we can to support the Ukrainian people.https://t.co/DSV97xybtb
