Atomic Heart - Half Life with Russian Robot Clowns

[Fry Crayola]

Cyprus, not Greece.

[fat flatulent git]

I’d never opened this thread before the game was mentioned in the Hogwarts Legacy thread.  Will read reviews.

[three1ne]

You can already see the clear difference in graphics between the real gameplay videos and the PR vids. 

[JPL]

1 hour ago, Fry Crayola said:

Cyprus, not Greece.

Ah yeah. I wasn't sure where exactly, but I knew it was pretty far from Russia.

[Rex Grossman]

8 hours ago, JPL said:

Ah yeah. I wasn't sure where exactly, but I knew it was pretty far from Russia.

It is however a Russian company backed with money from sanctioned sources.

[Parappa]

Any reviews yet? 

[Mr Do 71]

7 hours ago, Parappa said:

Any reviews yet? 

Game isn’t out until Feb 21st.

[JPL]

10 hours ago, Rex Grossman said:

It is however a Russian company backed with money from sanctioned sources.

Have you got any links to this?

 

I've had a quick look online and it seems the company is registered in Paphos, Cyprus, but they've had funding from Gaijin, GEM Capital and Tencent who could well have links to Russia. See here: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mundfish

 

Actually, looking further, they could be based in either Moscow or Maryland according to these two sites.

https://app.dealroom.co/companies/mundfish

https://rocketreach.co/mundfish-profile_b42d8831fe576ac7

 

It's not very clear.

[Rex Grossman]

6 hours ago, JPL said:

Have you got any links to this?

 

I've had a quick look online and it seems the company is registered in Paphos, Cyprus, but they've had funding from Gaijin, GEM Capital and Tencent who could well have links to Russia. See here: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mundfish

 

Actually, looking further, they could be based in either Moscow or Maryland according to these two sites.

https://app.dealroom.co/companies/mundfish

https://rocketreach.co/mundfish-profile_b42d8831fe576ac7

 

It's not very clear.

There are links earlier in the thread. And various stories online. I don’t think it’s up for debate at this point.

[Unofficial Who]

15 hours ago, Rex Grossman said:

There are links earlier in the thread. And various stories online. I don’t think it’s up for debate at this point.

 

Except that it is. I'm with you on this, I won't be buying this because of the risk of financially supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine.

 

Thing is the two biggest points I've raised have had pretty decent counterpoints.

 

1. Atomic Heart is Russian. Except no, Mundfish is a company based in Cyprus which is why this game is coming out in the west despite Russian sanctions.

 

2. Money will filter back up to Russia through investors. Except as others have pointed out this is the reality of all shareholder owned companies and it's difficult if not impossible to work that out day by day.

 

I've got my misgivings and biases here but you'd have to think Microsoft must be pretty sure they aren't going to run afoul of any sanctions or political issues, especially given that they're trying to negotiate with multiple governments the acquisition of Activision. I have my suspicions that money raised by Atomic Heart will go to Russian interests but beyond my suspicions (and links that I provided by a biased source) it's fair to say that I've failed to make a case here. And that's without seeing any of the content (who knows, maybe it will be a subversive game where you fight mecha Putin in the end game.)

[JPL]

2 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

 

Except that it is. I'm with you on this, I won't be buying this because of the risk of financially supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine.

 

Thing is the two biggest points I've raised have had pretty decent counterpoints.

 

1. Atomic Heart is Russian. Except no, Mundfish is a company based in Cyprus which is why this game is coming out in the west despite Russian sanctions.

 

2. Money will filter back up to Russia through investors. Except as others have pointed out this is the reality of all shareholder owned companies and it's difficult if not impossible to work that out day by day.

 

I've got my misgivings and biases here but you'd have to think Microsoft must be pretty sure they aren't going to run afoul of any sanctions or political issues, especially given that they're trying to negotiate with multiple governments the acquisition of Activision. I have my suspicions that money raised by Atomic Heart will go to Russian interests but beyond my suspicions (and links that I provided by a biased source) it's fair to say that I've failed to make a case here. And that's without seeing any of the content (who knows, maybe it will be a subversive game where you fight mecha Putin in the end game.)

Yep, I think it's a lot more nuanced that people are saying. I'm not sure why this game was picked on specifically, but I can imagine the funding companies for Mundfish are funding a lot of games that aren't being reported on. I'm also struggling to find out why it's being said they're a Russian company, when they're registered in Cyprus, as far as I can tell.

[Rex Grossman]

2 hours ago, Unofficial Who said:

maybe it will be a subversive game where you fight mecha Putin in the end game.

 

Considering the game features music from someone who is very openly supporting the invasion of Ukraine and the platform selling it is directly connected to Putin's chief of staff I think we can confidently predict this will not be subversive towards the Russian dictatorship.

 

I know that in general gamers aren't known for their empathy (this Reddit has replies that will make many of you cringe and many of you shrug) so the idea that a game where you fire weapons for an alt-future USSR and the money will help fund the genocide in Ukraine won't put off most people. It makes me a bit sad but I'm not in the least bit surprised.

[Rex Grossman]

5 minutes ago, JPL said:

Yep, I think it's a lot more nuanced that people are saying. I'm not sure why this game was picked on specifically, but I can imagine the funding companies for Mundfish are funding a lot of games that aren't being reported on. I'm also struggling to find out why it's being said they're a Russian company, when they're registered in Cyprus, as far as I can tell.

 

Literally no one thinks they're not Russian except you.

I don't even think that's the argument.

I'm not actually sure if you're taking the piss.

They moved from Moscow to Cyprus when sanctions came in. 

[JPL]

5 minutes ago, Rex Grossman said:

 

Literally no one thinks they're not Russian except you.

I don't even think that's the argument.

I'm not actually sure if you're taking the piss.

Why would I be taking the piss? It's a pretty important factor.

 

I've looked them up and it looks like they're registered in Cyprus. Can you show me a link that shows they're Russian?

 

I'd like to make my decision based on presented facts, not just hearsay on the internet. If I'm mistaken, fair enough, but it's good to have the facts, isn't it?

 

[Rex Grossman]

Just now, JPL said:

Why would I be taking the piss? It's a pretty important factor.

 

I've looked them up and it looks like they're registered in Cyprus. Can you show me a link that shows they're Russian?

 

 

Fuck me. A Russian game company moves to Cyprus, retains their links to Russia, blocks Ukrainians on Twitter, promotes the music of pro-war musicians, is working with the son of Putin's chief of staff, sells a game glorifying the Russian military and you want to believe they are actually Cypriot.

 

Whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.

 

Try the links on the Reddit thread I posted.

[Stopharage]

24 minutes ago, JPL said:

Yep, I think it's a lot more nuanced that people are saying. I'm not sure why this game was picked on specifically, but I can imagine the funding companies for Mundfish are funding a lot of games that aren't being reported on. I'm also struggling to find out why it's being said they're a Russian company, when they're registered in Cyprus, as far as I can tell.

The game is developed by Mundfish studio. On the website of the studio, there is currently no mention of the fact that it is a Russian game developer. The story of the company begins with its launch in 2017 by a team of like-minded people in Cyprus.

 

At the same time, the studio was mentioned as a Russian one, with an office in Moscow, in Russian gaming and IT medias a few years ago. At DTF 2019, there was even a report from the Moscow office of the studio, where, according to the publication, about 30 people worked at that time.

 

On LinkedIn, you can find the profiles of the founders of the studio: Artem Galeev, Robert Bagratuni, Oleg Horodishenin, they are from the Russian Federation. Bagratuni is a former top manager of Mail.ru.

 

The investors of the studio are Chinese Tencent and Russian GEM Capital and Gaijin Entertainment. GEM Capital is a Russian fund founded by Anatoly Pali, who previously worked at Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazenergoset. The studio raised investments from them in 2021.

 

Moreover, some internet enthusiasts found Paliy’s connection to other Russian state institutions, like RusAl of Oleg Deripaska and sanctioned “systemically important” bank VTB.

Mundfish studio never commented on the war in Ukraine and didn’t condemn Russia either. In a recent tweet, developers stated that they “do not comment on politics”.

 

From here. 

[JPL]

6 minutes ago, Stopharage said:

The game is developed by Mundfish studio. On the website of the studio, there is currently no mention of the fact that it is a Russian game developer. The story of the company begins with its launch in 2017 by a team of like-minded people in Cyprus.

 

At the same time, the studio was mentioned as a Russian one, with an office in Moscow, in Russian gaming and IT medias a few years ago. At DTF 2019, there was even a report from the Moscow office of the studio, where, according to the publication, about 30 people worked at that time.

 

On LinkedIn, you can find the profiles of the founders of the studio: Artem Galeev, Robert Bagratuni, Oleg Horodishenin, they are from the Russian Federation. Bagratuni is a former top manager of Mail.ru.

 

The investors of the studio are Chinese Tencent and Russian GEM Capital and Gaijin Entertainment. GEM Capital is a Russian fund founded by Anatoly Pali, who previously worked at Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazenergoset. The studio raised investments from them in 2021.

 

Moreover, some internet enthusiasts found Paliy’s connection to other Russian state institutions, like RusAl of Oleg Deripaska and sanctioned “systemically important” bank VTB.

Mundfish studio never commented on the war in Ukraine and didn’t condemn Russia either. In a recent tweet, developers stated that they “do not comment on politics”.

 

From here. 

Thanks for this. Makes it a lot clearer.

 

I apologise @Rex Grossman for not knowing all this, but that's why I'm asking.

[Kevvy Metal]

I'm in a JPL thread! 

Maybe we should change the thread title to - 

"Is it just me? or are companies absolved of their Russian connection if they just move to a different country?" 

[Unofficial Who]

@Stopharage, that makes it a lot clearer.

 

Which begs the question...why are Microsoft releasing this via GamePass?

 

[JPL]

13 minutes ago, Kevvy Metal said:

I'm in a JPL thread! 

Maybe we should change the thread title to - 

"Is it just me? or are companies absolved of their Russian connection if they just move to a different country?" 

Can you stop doing this please. I'm just asking questions on a game I was interested in.

[Majora]

Expecting them to condemn Russia is pure privilege spoken by Westerners who don't have to worry about repercussions like lots of their staff suddenly suffering lots of completely unrelated falls from balconies. I don't know that berating them for investment raised before the Ukraine war is particularly helpful either.

 

Someone made this point earlier I think, but imagine you're a UK developer and then the UK goes to war with another country and goes full-on authoritarian with its population at the same time. Should those UK devs be expected to publicly condemn the war and risk genuine repercussions just to satisfy some internet dwellers on the other side of the world? Should they be expected to not accept UK funding, even if that means they can't complete the game they're working on and people lose their jobs? If a few people in the dev team support the war and some don't, does that mean the game is completely tainted?

 

I don't think there's any grey area when it comes to Rowling and that Potter game, personally, but this is a dreadfully murky situation.

[Rex Grossman]

9 minutes ago, Majora said:

Expecting them to condemn Russia is pure privilege spoken by Westerners who don't have to worry about repercussions like lots of their staff suddenly suffering lots of completely unrelated falls from balconies. I don't know that berating them for investment raised before the Ukraine war is particularly helpful either.

 

Someone made this point earlier I think, but imagine you're a UK developer and then the UK goes to war with another country and goes full-on authoritarian with its population at the same time. Should those UK devs be expected to publicly condemn the war and risk genuine repercussions just to satisfy some internet dwellers on the other side of the world? Should they be expected to not accept UK funding, even if that means they can't complete the game they're working on and people lose their jobs? If a few people in the dev team support the war and some don't, does that mean the game is completely tainted?

 

I don't think there's any grey area when it comes to Rowling and that Potter game, personally, but this is a dreadfully murky situation.

 

I don't EXPECT them to condemn Russia's attempted genocide in Ukraine because they are a Russian company. Not the Cypriot company they are pretending to be. That's kind of the point

 

And yes, if the UK did what Russia's doing and the game (glorifying British imperialism and connected to our dicator's cabinet) would be tainted. Like every British company would be because there would be sanctions.

 

This isn't murky.

 

There aren't two sides to this.

 

I'm not going to see this from a Russian studio's point of view in the same way I don't have sympathy with other Russian companies suffering from sanctions. Oh boo-hoo, people think worse of Gazprom. Give me a break.

[Gabe]

6 minutes ago, Majora said:

Expecting them to condemn Russia is pure privilege spoken by Westerners who don't have to worry about repercussions like lots of their staff suddenly suffering lots of completely unrelated falls from balconies. I don't know that berating them for investment raised before the Ukraine war is particularly helpful either.

 

Someone made this point earlier I think, but imagine you're a UK developer and then the UK goes to war with another country and goes full-on authoritarian with its population at the same time. Should those UK devs be expected to publicly condemn the war and risk genuine repercussions just to satisfy some internet dwellers on the other side of the world? Should they be expected to not accept UK funding, even if that means they can't complete the game they're working on and people lose their jobs? If a few people in the dev team support the war and some don't, does that mean the game is completely tainted?

 

I don't think there's any grey area when it comes to Rowling and that Potter game, personally, but this is a dreadfully murky situation.

Yes, I made those exact points earlier in the thread, especially the bit about privilege and 'accidents' for those questioning the regime. And also the actual case of Blair taking the UK into an illegal war, though I accept there are quite significant differences and that falls a little under 'whataboutism'. 

 

The more explicit links around the funding are more of a cause to give this a hard pass though. Whilst it may well be that the method of obtaining the funding was far removed from the more nefarious acts of those companies, that link to a number of organisations with pro-Russian aggression stances is hard to ignore. And perhaps the game is a massive bit of PR for the motherland too to really ram it home.

 

It's a shame, because it looks interesting, but it is only a game and there's no hardship in skipping it versus the (perhaps distant) support of the Russian regime.

[Treble]

Just to reiterate, though, unless you're a Switch or PC-only gamer, just buy it secondhand. 

 

You could make the tenuous argument that supporting the secondary market legitimises someone's initial dodgy purchase...? Not so much a 'reach' as a 'reeeeeeeeeeach' that one, mind. 

 

[djbhammer]

 

[Ry]

Some of this video is damning.

 

 

[MidWalian]

Will watch that video sometime but finding it weird that ResetERA is warning/banning members if they post about how some of the money will find its way back to Gazprom/Russian state etc.

[Rex Grossman]

5 minutes ago, MidWalian said:

Will watch that video sometime but finding it weird that ResetERA is warning/banning members if they post about how some of the money will find its way back to Gazprom/Russian state etc.

Wait, what? 
They don’t want to show any support for Hogwarts Legacy but at the same time don’t want to draw attention to the Russian state’s involvement in a game glorifying Soviet imperialism?

[MidWalian]

I'm an occasional lurker on ResetERA so maybe I've missed something but that is the way it looks to me. Regular posters here and there may be able to shed more light though.

[SM47]

1 hour ago, Ry said:

Some of this video is damning.

 

 

 

Meh, much of that video is barrel scraping really. He hasn't played the game and he accuses it of glorifying the USSR and communism. If it's glorifying communism then Putin won't like it as he referred to the invasion of Ukraine as decommunisation, that Ukraine was essentially created due to the machinations of Lenin and the Bolsheviks and is therefore invalid. Maybe he's correct that it does glorify problematic qualities of the USSR, I haven't played it either. It doesn't look all that glorious with all the insane robots and people being brutally killed alongside Soviet iconography. It's like saying Bioshock idealises Neoliberalism because it's set in one fictional character's vision of a Laissez Faire utopia. Yeah but its full of mental people who have been driven murderously insane by superpower tonics. I don't remember that bit from the wikipedia synopsis of Atlas Shrugged I skimmed 20 years ago 

 

He's Ukranian so he'll obviously, arguably understandably, hate it, considering his country is currently at war with Russia causing much unnecessary suffering and death among the civilian population, likely affecting his daily life and the daily lives of his family and friends. He's like the Minister Of Culture who appealed to westerners to stop listening to Tchaikovsky a few months ago. It's regrettable that money we spend goes towards a class of people who actively engage in the perpetuation of human misery but that's not just Atomic Heart. That's consumption under capitalism. Only replacing capitalism with an economic system that doesn't revolve around private ownership of the means of production will stop this, not boycotting this individual videogame. I do think people are extremely eager to buy into the whole ethical consumption thing because they're so robbed of agency in other parts of their lives. Sadly I just think it's a case of the commodity contemplating itself, neoliberalism internalizing social conscience and protest until it becomes just another identity for sale on the market.

 

He also seems to be labouring under the delusion that the developers of Disco Elysium are asserting that the Revacholian Revolution was "bad" because it depicts the partial ruination of Martinaise after the siege. Again, this is obviously a cultural reading of the situation rather than a literary one. The defeat of the Commune is treated with immense sadness in DE, the writer of that particular game is pretty obviously sympathetic to transformative social politics and revolutionism. That game is probably much more guilty of glorifying communism than anything I've seen so far in Atomic Heart's trailers