Sony Cancels Call of Duty: Modern Warfare On Russian Playstation Store

In a move some will surely call political propaganda, Sony has announced that they will “not sell” Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the PlayStation Store at all in Russia.

In a tweet earlier today, Activision posted that the official Sony Russia account broke the harsh news to the newly-disappointed Russian fans. In the statement, Activision confirmed Infinity Ward's shooter will not be sold digitally in Russia on PC and Xbox, and stressed Modern Warfare “is a fictional game.”

В основе Modern Warfare – полностью вымышленная история, тщательно созданная, чтобы доставить удовольствие всем игрокам. SIE решили не продавать игру в российском PS Store. Мы с нетерпением ждем выхода игры в цифровом варианте для ПК и Xbox 25 октября.

— Call of Duty Russia (@CallofDutyRU) October 22, 2019

Here's the statement translated in full:

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a fictional game that has been thoughtfully created to entertain fans and tell a compelling narrative. Sony Interactive Entertainment has decided not to sell Modern Warfare on the PlayStation Store in Russia at this time. We look forward to launching Modern Warfare digitally in Russia on 25 October on PC via Battle.net and on console via Xbox.”

With the game set to release this Friday, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare “revolves around a terrorist organisation that gets its hands on chemical weapons, and the subsequent effort to prevent an attack.”

There is also a “child play” level in the new game campaign, where players will meet a young girl named Farah, stuck in the middle of a horrific Russian bombing in her Middle Eastern city.

“Labeled a terrorist organisation by the Russian government for their long-standing resistance, Russian soldiers are ordered to make no distinction between the terror group Al-Qatala and the liberation fighters under Farah's command.”

The original Modern Warfare had a Russian ex-arms dealer turned ultranationalist party leader as it’s operational “big bad” so, what exactly made the PlayStation Store in Russia pull the plug on this surefire pop cultural success? And… why just on one platform?

Conspiracy theories have already scattered across messageboards and as much as ESTNN would love to share them, we’d like to stay safe until the game drops this Friday. After all, Imran Zakhaev is always watching.

Image VIA: Activision