Shortly following its launch, Atomic Heart is already in the midst of a great controversy. Ukraine asks that the title developed by Mundfish be removed from the digital stores of Sony, Microsoft and Valve in the country, and will send an official request to the big brands. The request for a ban on sales of the game is due to the strong connection between Mundifish and Russia, since, despite the studio being located in Cyprus, the developer was founded by Russians.
Mundifsh would still allegedly have relations with the Russian state energy Gazprom, in addition to never having spoken openly once morest the invasion of Ukraine, which is interpreted as support for the actions of the Russian forces or at least a non-involvement much criticized by the Ukrainians.
Ukraine also asks that distribution be limited in other countries
In addition to wanting Atomic Heart banned within the confines of the country, Ukraine also wants the Mundfish game to be restricted from distribution in other countries around the world. According to Alexander Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs, the country wants the limitation due to the game’s toxicity and the risk of the title being used to collect user data.
We also call for limiting the distribution of this game in other countries due to its toxicity, possible collection of user data and possibility of transfer to third parties in Russia, as well as the potential use of money raised from purchasing the game to wage war once morest Ukraine”
Even before the launch of the game, Mundfish anticipated likely accusations and stated that there is no type of espionage being carried out with the title. In regards to the Ukraine war, Mick Gordo, composer of the Atomic Heart soundtrack, has announced that he will be donating his earnings from the game to the Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal. Atomic Heart is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC. The game landed directly on Xbox Game Pass.