I mean, the game being Russian doesn't really matter to me, especially since the developer team made a statement that they are "a pro-peace organization against violence against people". Being Russian in and of itself doesn't automatically make something bad, after all. There are good and bad people in all countries. I know that certain members of the developer team do support Russia in the war, but the team as a whole has not taken any position, and I doubt playing the game does anything regarding Ukraine unless someone on the team is actively donating his share of the profits to the Russian military. I seriously doubt the average civilian or soldier in Ukraine care about what video games some people in the West are playing. Furthermore, the company producing the game is registered in Cyprus, so they're not paying taxes to the Russian government, as far as I know. However, I have heard claims that Gazprom, the Russian government's gas export company, owns stock in the company producing Atomic Heart. If true, that would mean the Russian government will get a portion of profits via return to Gazprom on its investment. It's kind of expected that a Russian developer team wouldn't actively voice support for Ukraine, since there could be significant societal and legal consequences if their peers or the government find out about their support for Ukraine, risking their income and livelihoods. The real issue to me is whether or not it is a romanticization of the communist Soviet Union, considering that the player is playing as a Soviet KGB agent, though it could also be satirizing it instead, seeking to show the ridiculous nature of communist propaganda and Soviet nostalgia. Maybe the game isn't supposed to deliver any political message, and all the developers wanted was to make a futuristic fantasy game set in the USSR, and had the bad luck to release it during a time of maximum tension between Russia and Western countries.
Then again, I don't really care much about most video games, especially in that genre, so the entire controversy surrounding Atomic Heart is kind of a moot point for me. It's not like it affects whether or not I'll buy the game or not, as I was never interested in the first place.
also why are the robots doing sus things in that comic
