Russians Have Trouble Paying on Steam
It seems that Steam users living in Russia are having huge difficulties when it comes to buying anything on the platform. There are reports of payment methods not working. GOG has also stopped trading with Russians and Belarusians.
One of the consequences of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops is a number of sanctions that Western countries and various companies have imposed on the aggressors. There are voices among gamers that Valve should have joined the process of cutting off the Russians from all sorts of goods by blocking access to Steam in this country. This did not happen, but still the use of this platform is very difficult in Russia. All because of malfunctioning payment methods.
Russians have problems with payments on Steam
Already last Wednesday there were reports that Russian players, as a result of sanctions, may have problems with making payments on Steam using their credit cards. And indeed, according to information appearing on the web, this is currently impossible. Visa, MasterCards and Mira (the latter under the Central Bank of the Russian Federation) cards, among others, do not work.
What about PayPal? For example, Digit News states that theoretically it should work. However, it is possible that in practice things look different. As reported by Polish streamer and youtuber Bonkol (via BOOP.PL [in Polish]), one of the Russians hosting a live broadcast on Twitch tried to pay for the game on Steam using various methods and none of them worked. There were messages about not being able to use the selected method.
GOG stops trading with Russians and Belarusians
Either way, Russian players have problems with purchases not only on Steam. Obstacles also appeared on GOG. Yesterday the store posted message, stating that all sales of games to citizens living in Russia and Belarus are suspended. However, they can still log into their accounts and download previously purchased productions. Quoting the announcement:
"We know that players in Russia and Belarus, individuals who have nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine, will be impacted by this decision, but with this action we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak out about what is taking going on in the heart of Europe."
It is worth remembering that this is not the only gesture of solidarity with Ukraine that the video games industry has made in recent weeks. You can read more about the voices of support for Ukraine coming from various parts of the digital entertainment sector in this news. There are many indications that the list of companies and organizations expressing their support for the Ukrainian cause will only grow.
