Microsoft 'suspending all sales' of products and services in Russia

Move comes amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Microsoft have become the latest company to suspend sales of their products in Russia.

The tech giant are joining the likes of Apple, EA, Warner Brothers, GOG and Disney in suspending or halting sales of their products in Russia in the wake of last week's invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, Brad Smith, Vice-President of Microsoft said "like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia."

"We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia," the statement said.

important to note that Microsoft's statement only says "new sales." The company isn't providing any more details on what that means, but it likely means existing subscriptions (Xbox Live, Azure, etc) won't be counted as "new sales" and can be renewed https://t.co/6KfD1ddquY

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 4, 2022

"In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions."

Microsoft's range of products, ranging from PCs and Xbox's to services like Microsoft Office and Xbox Live will be among the products affected.

The news follows Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister calling on Xbox and PlayStation to temporarily end support in the Russian and Belorussian markets.

@Xbox @PlayStation

You are definitely aware of what is happening in Ukraine right now. Russia declare war not for Ukraine but for all civilized world. If you support human values, you should live the Russian market! pic.twitter.com/tnQr13BsSv

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 2, 2022

In an open letter published on Twitter, Mykhailo Fedorov called on the tech companies to "block all Russian and Belorussian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belorussian teams and gamers in all international esports events”.

The news follows an announcement on Thursday that CD Projekt Red, owners of the GOG store, are suspending sales in Russia and Belarus.

The entertainment industry at large has reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the likes of 'The Batman' having its release suspended in Russia and the Russian national football team being removed from the 'FIFA' games.

Game developers have put on a united front in the face of the invasion, with this IGN article rounding up the fundraising efforts various game developers have carried out since last week's invasion.