Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom barred from Russian players

Pokémon GoLate Thursday, Niantic announced the decision to pull its games out Russia. Pokémon Go, Pikmin BloomPlease see the following: For more information, please visit:The game will be unavailable for download in Russia or Belarus and will therefore not be available to players from those countries. Niantic cited support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion of the country.

“We stand with the global community in hoping for peace and a rapid resolution to the violence and suffering in Ukraine,” Niantic said in a tweet published Thursday. “Niantic’s games are no longer available to download in Russia and Belarus, and gameplay will also be suspended there shortly.”

Niantic joined other tech companies, including Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft that have stopped selling in Russia after Mykhailo Fedorov, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, asked for sanctioning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country has also been closed to other media companies such as Netflix, Electronic Arts and Apple. Niantic’s promise appears to go a step further than suspending sales or downloads, as players in the region will no longer be able to play the company’s games at all.

Niantic pledged, along with other companies to help Ukraine’s humanitarian assistance efforts. It announced that it had raised $75,000 by matching employees’ donations on March 3. The company said it has also donated $200,000 “directly to humanitarian organizations focused on supporting the people and refugees of Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is continuing his attack on Ukraine’s war zone. The conflict in Ukraine now enters its third week. More than 2 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees while cities — including hospitals, homes, and schools — are bombed by Russian forces.