Following the events over recent days where Russia has declared war and invaded Ukraine, EA has announced they are removing the Russian and Belarusian national and club teams from both FIFA 22 and NHL 22 over the next few weeks. While not confirmed, the publisher also seems to be thinking about excluding Russian tracks from future F1 games too.
When will Russian teams be removed from FIFA 22 and NHL 22?
EA has already started the process to remove the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online. They will “keep our communities up to date on any actions taken, and thank players for their patience” as they continue to update the game. EA Sports said it “stands in solidarity with the Ukranian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine.”
A statement from EA SPORTS FIFA: pic.twitter.com/v3pZvpblgS
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 2, 2022
Meanwhile, all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams will be removed from NHL 22 “following the IIHF’s suspension of all Russian and Belarussian national and club teams from IIHF competitions”. This will happen “within the coming weeks”.
A statement from EA SPORTS NHL: pic.twitter.com/2uX4h55ok4
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) March 2, 2022
No announcements have been made in regards to other games. However, it is believed EA is also assessing whether to include the Russian tracks in their upcoming F1 2022 game, especially now Russian drivers have also been banned from competing in some countries, including the UK. In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, EA said “we have not announced any news regarding F1 22. We are in discussions with the F1 organization about the race schedule for next year, and we will align with their plans for the 2022 season.” It’s believed EA will make an official announcement about their upcoming F1 title in the coming weeks.
In other news, Horizon Forbidden West Patch 1.06 has been released, fixing several instances of crashes, progression blockers, and Aloy’s constant comments on sending things to her stash. Elsewhere, PlayStation dominated the console gaming market in 2021.
