Shortly before the beta of CoD: Modern Warfare was launched on PS4, the game was completely removed from the Russian PSN store. Players are now receiving refunds.
What happened over the weekend? Russian PS4 players of CoD: Modern Warfare were in for a nasty surprise this weekend. Overnight, the beta that was supposed to take place on the weekend disappeared, along with all versions of Modern Warfare from the PS Store.
The decision seems to have been made very shortly before the start of the PS4-exclusive beta on the weekend. Just on September 10, the official Russian CoD:MW account tweeted about the beta on PS4.
2 дня до Беты.
— Call of Duty Russia (@CallofDutyRU) September 10, 2019
Бета-тест #ModernWarfare начнется 12 сентября, только на PS4. pic.twitter.com/H1j2Y09XYO
When inquired about it by Sony support, players were informed that Sony would not sell the game in Russia. Consequently, all pre-orders in the PS Store were canceled and purchasers received refunds.
Why is Modern Warfare gone? There is no official explanation why the game was suddenly removed from the PS Store. Neither Sony nor the publisher Activision has commented on the reasons yet. However, the decision seems to have been made by Activision.
The beta on PC and Xbox One will take place as planned this weekend. Activision emphasized that the removal of the beta from the Russian PS Store will not affect testing on other platforms.
The game will also still be released on October 25 for these platforms. Only the PS4 version will not be available in Russia.
CoD: Modern Warfare is under fire in Russia
This is the situation regarding CoD: Modern Warfare in Russia: For many fans, it is not surprising that the PS4 version of the game is no longer available. Physical copies of it were never available for preorder since the announcement.
Additionally, several major Russian media outlets have already criticized Modern Warfare hard since the announcement. This includes major TV channels like Russia Today and REN TV.
This is what the Russian media said: They cite multiple missions from previous CoD games in which Russians are portrayed as villains. Particularly infamous is the brutal mission “No Russian,” in which civilians at the airport are shot by Russian terrorists, which has frequently been cited as an example of “anti-Russian propaganda.”
[…] Although this scene was removed from the game, only in the Russian version. The rest of the world is slowly getting used to the idea that Russians are like this. Beasts, not humans. […]
REN TV
In the new CoD: Modern Warfare, it is criticized that a trailer positively depicts the organization White Helmets (Link leads to Wikipedia).
This group is in a conflict with the Russian government, and a positive portrayal of them is considered by the Russian media as an anti-Russian propaganda action.
However, it is not clear whether these are truly the reasons for the removal of the PS4 version. The question also remains why the game is still being released on other platforms.
