New World suspends Russian localisation amidst Ukraine invasion

Amazon Games has pressed pause on plans for a Russian localisation of New World following the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to TechRadar, Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann said: “We were looking into localising New World for Russia, and we stopped that.” Following Hartmann's comments, a spokesman confirmed that it was due to the ongoing invasion. Amazon has also promised to match any employee donations made to Ukrainian relief organisations. While the team has put a stop to a Russian localisation, it appears that the game will still be available to purchase and play in the country.

The publisher joins a rapidly-growing line of games industry figures who have pulled support and sales from Russia and Belarus in one way or another. This week has seen the likes of CD Projekt Red and Bloober Team remove their games from the sale, while EA has removed Russian teams from FIFA and NHL. Ukraine's deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov has been pledging for the industry to pull any and all support from Russia—including closing any studio offices in Russia and cancelling any esports tournaments due to take place in the country.