Cult gaming company Atari bans Russians from buying its games
7 December 2025 15:06
Users of the digital platform Steam have noticed that the Russian and Chinese versions of a number of cult game remakes released by the American studio Nightdive Studios have disappeared from the store. The titles that are now unavailable include the long-awaited horror remake System Shock and its sequel, an updated version of the adventure horror The Thing, as well as three parts of the futuristic Turok series and the shooter Blood. This was reported by DTF, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The reason for the blocking was the decision of Atari, which owns the Nightdive studio. An indirect confirmation is the fact that other games released directly by Atari were also withdrawn from sale in Russia and China. Neither the studio nor the publisher has officially commented on the situation, but the practice of regional restrictions for American companies has become common in recent years amid geopolitical tensions.
Previously, a number of Nightdive projects, including remakes of classic shooters such as Doom, Hexen, and Quake, were not initially sold in Russia, as the rights to these franchises belong to Microsoft, which suspended new sales in the country in the spring of 2022.
The disconnection of Nightdive and Atari games affects primarily fans of retro games, for whom the studio is known for high-quality and technically updated versions of cult projects from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Currently, blocked titles can be purchased legally in Russia only through keys from third-party resellers.
