Sony Says “No Russian” to Store Release of Modern Warfare

With the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare literally just a couple days away (depending on where you are in the world) it is, without a doubt, looking to be one of the most exciting releases in the franchise in recent memory. Will be it the return to form that many feel it desperately needs? Only time will tell. I am, however, (and somewhat unusually) optimistic about this one.

In a report via Eurogamer, however, Sony has confirmed some rather unusual news regarding the game’s release. Particularly since we are so close to its launch. Put simply, the game is not going to be offered for digital sale via the Russian PlayStation Store.

Sony Says “No Russian” For PlayStation Store Release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare

While both the PC and Xbox One versions of the game are still expected to sell as normal (digitally) in Russia on launch day, Sony has taken the somewhat unusual step of deliberately excluding it from their PlayStation Store platform for that specific country.

Why have they done this? Well, while I’m not going to give away any spoilers from the ‘plot’, let’s just say that Russia is (largely) painted out to be the ‘bad guys’ in this game. Something that’s not exactly unusual in this franchise either.

What Will Happen?

Presumably, the physical version of the game will still be available to purchase in Russia. The real crux of this is, as above, Sony is not going to offer this digitally via their own store. Something of a amazingly bold move considering that this game is undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest sellers of 2019.

Given the sensitive nature of the subject (and the general underlying tension throughout the world with Russia at the moment) it is, however, perhaps a sensible if still shocking decision!

What do you think? Are you surprised that Sony is making this decision? Do you think it will have a significant impact on sales? – Let us know in the comments!