Call of Duty: Modern Warfare banned from Russian PlayStation store

Sony Interactive Russia have refused to sell the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the Russian PlayStation store, Activision have announced.

Modern Warfare is the fourth game in the series, providing a reimagined story, not following on directly from the original trilogy, but taking place in the same universe.

It first became clear that SIE Russia had some reservations about the game after the beta for the game was abruptly removed from the PlayStation store.

The Modern Warfare beta was abruptly removed from the Russian PS store.

Additionally, preorders for the game made on the Russian PlayStation store were canceled, with money returned to users who had already preordered.

• Read More: How to rank up fast in Modern Warfare on release day and beyond

When the beta was removed, an Activision spokesperson told CharlieINTEL, “Unfortunately, Sony Interactive Entertainment is unable to support the Modern Warfare Beta on PS4 in Russia this weekend.”

On October 22, Call of Duty Russia confirmed that “SIE decided not to sell the game in the Russian PS Store”, despite it being “a completely fictional story, carefully crafted to please all players.”

The statement in full reads:

At the heart of Modern Warfare is a completely fictional story, carefully crafted to please all players. SIE decided not to sell the game in the Russian PS Store. We look forward to the release of the game digitally for PC and Xbox on October 25.

On PC, the game is available exclusively on Battle.Net, meaning Activision itself has full control.

Will Modern Warfare be on Xbox in Russia?

For now, it appears Microsoft has not raised the same objections to having the game on sale for Xbox One in Russia.

It’s peculiar that of the two major consoles, the game is going ahead in Russia on the Microsoft store for Xbox, but not PlayStation, as Activision and Sony still have a deal for Modern Warfare on PS4.

• Read More: Multiple ‘leaked’ copies of Modern Warfare received by Twitch streamer

Although there is no longer exclusivity for map packs and DLC, PlayStation 4 players will have access to Modern Warfare’s Survival Mode for an entire year before it comes to PC and Xbox in October 2020.