Steam has recently cut off the developer and publisher payment options to Russia, Belarus, and even Ukraine. The company has not stated a reason behind this development but has sent a message to certain users, citing “the current environment” as the reason behind their cut down on developer and publisher payments.
Here’s the full statement as cataloged by YellowAfterlife on Twitter:
In a new development, Valve completely ceases sending developer/publisher payments to Russia, Belarus… and Ukraine
This doesn’t impact me personally (since I’m not the “owner” of any paid titles), but for anyone relying on Steam as their source of income in these trying times, pic.twitter.com/Ix6YnJM0Xj
— Vadym 🇺🇦 (@YellowAfterlife) March 18, 2022
Now, it might seem strange for Valve to suddenly just pull the rug on Ukraine as well as Russia and Belarus. But, once you consider factors outside of the current political one, it can begin to make sense. Valve’s decision seems to be based on bank information. In other words, this could very well be a problem of the company no longer being able to keep up with the economic shift in all three of those areas.
Earlier this month, as the Russian invasion began, Steam developers from the region were reporting that their sales income was being halted due to their using state-owned banks. However, Russian developers could still earn an income should they switch to other, unsanctioned alternatives.
With this in mind, it’s easier to assume that Steam’s payment lock is more related to the other sanctions that Russia has been facing such as the SWIFT sanction that essentially froze banks within the country. Considering how volatile the current Russian and Ukranian financial systems have become during the war, it’s going to be easier to hold off on payments until the financial situation in all three of the involved countries begins to stabilize.
Other companies that have renounced their sales to Russia after the conflict began are Ubisoft, Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, Sony, Intel, AMD, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. Amazon’s localization of New World for Russia has also been reportedly halted. There are many other companies that have been cutting their ties with Russia. But soon, it’ll be a matter of asking if the cuts were made in solidarity or as a response to the current economical landscape.
