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Yesterday (2 March) a rumour started circulating about an email sent to EA staff. The email apparently read that Russian national and club teams would be removed from its FIFA and NHL games following the invasion of Ukraine. Now, EA Sports have released an official statement on Twitter that this is the case and that it is “actively evaluating related changes to other areas of our games.”
The games affected include NHL 22, FIFA 22, FIFA Online, and FIFA Mobile. This is not the first time that EA has removed content from one of its games following a real world controversy. Last month EA removed a Manchester United player from FIFA 22 following allegations of rape and assault. EA claims the move is in part to show the company "stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people".
If you're a FIFA player, you can check out the funniest FIFA wins and fails in the video below.
EA is not the first company to withdraw products from Russia to show support for Ukraine. Warner Bros. have removed The Batman from Russian cinemas ahead of its 4 March release. The film has already received positive reviews from critics. Following the announcement, both Disney and Sony claimed they will be "pausing" Russian theatrical releases.
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Ukraine has urged further entertainment companies to withdraw support from Russia. Vice Prime Minister of the country, Mykhailo Fedorov urged Xbox and PlayStation to block all Russian accounts saying "We are sure that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression."
There are also a number of game studios which have pledged to donate profits from game sales to charities supporting Ukraine. You can find a full list of those games and where you can purchase them here.