The first-person shooter game Atomic Heart from Mundfish has only been available for a little over a week, yet it has already sparked a great deal of controversy. As a product developed by a Russian company, the game, with its Soviet themes, has drawn understandable ire from the people of Ukraine, who are currently repelling an illegal invasion from Russia.
The timing of the game's release has been the main source of controversy. Critics have accused Mundfish of endorsing Russia's acts of genocide, since it released the game three days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to claims that the Russian government will profit from the game's sales, Ukrainian officials have taken steps to get the game banned internationally as well. Thus far Mundfish has not condemned the war despite public calls for it to do so.
Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, issued a statement to the Ukranian tech website Dev.au (the English version was issued to PCGamesN), imploring digital gaming platforms to halt sales of the game.