Sony has informed Russian buyers of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot that the game will not be published on the PlayStation Store. Users who have pre-ordered will be reimbursed for the cost of the game.
A letter from Sony shared Games.Mail.Ru .
(...) The game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will not be published in the PlayStation Store of the Russian region, including possible pre-access to this game. All users who have already made a pre-order will receive a refund in full (...) We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, our service is not aware of the reasons for this situation.
Information in the comments for App2Top.ru officially confirmed by Sony’s Russian office.
In a conversation with us, the Activision press service noted that Sony is not ready to conduct open beta testing of the game at the moment. However, it is stated that the situation will not affect other platforms.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we confirm that Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe will not be able to support the open beta testing of the network game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in Russia. At the same time, our plans for open beta testing on Xbox One and PC remain unchanged. The beta test will be available to players on these platforms from September 19 to 23, 2019.
Russian media link the closure of pre-orders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in the PlayStation Store (as well as the cancellation of beta testing, which was just about to start) with criticism of the game by pro-government media.
A few days ago, Russian video blogger Anton Logvinov released a video in which he stated that the game could be banned in Russia. He appealed to the program on the channel Russia 24, where they scolded the game for a story campaign in which the non-governmental organization “White Helmets” is shown on the good side. Its members in Russia are considered accomplices of terrorists.
Who exactly initiated the cancellation of beta testing and the removal of the PS4 version of the game is still unclear. DTF reports that, according to Sony support, it was Activision’s decision. However, given that Activision has no plans to cancel beta testing on other platforms, this is unlikely.
The release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is scheduled for October 25.