Pokemon Go Stops Downloads, Suspends Gameplay in Russia

By Christian Hoffer

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. 

Niantic previously announced that they were donating $200,000 to organizations supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, with employees at Niantic raising an additional $75,000 in funds to support those efforts. The Pokemon Company announced a similar donation earlier this week as well.  

Niantic follows in the footsteps of numerous other video game publishers, including Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts, who previously suspended sales in Russia, citing the invasion as a reason. Nintendo also recently announced it was postponing the release of Advance Wars 1 + 2: Reboot Camp due to the ongoing conflict. Sanctions from the United States and other countries have shut off trade and imports to Russia, which has also contributed to many companies' decisions to pull out of Russia while their invasion of Ukraine continues. 

While Russia has a smaller Pokemon Go fanbase than other countries, the game still has some content that is exclusive to parts of that country. Notably, Pachirisu is exclusive to parts of Canada, Alaska, and Russia. 

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