Game Developer Accuses Russia of Stealing Characters for Military Ads

The developer behind the video game Atomic Heart has slammed the Russian military for using its characters to promote the organization.

Robot characters and designs from the game have been used to promote the official Russian military clothing range. The clothing brand is controlled by a division of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

A spokesperson for game developer Mundfish told Newsweek: "We want to make it clear that Mundfish company did not give permission for the Russian military brand to use any materials from our game Atomic Heart."

The video game, which has been positively received on the distribution service Steam, is set in a futuristic version of the Soviet Union where advanced robots serve their masters.

Due to its alternate historical setting, Atomic Heart features artwork and designs that are inspired by the real-life Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991.

While Mundfish is based in Cyprus, it has faced allegations that it is linked to Russian officials and has offices in the country.

As a result, Atomic Heart sparked controversy when it was released earlier this year, with Ukrainian officials calling for it to be banned from sale.

In a March 3 tweet, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Sony and Microsoft to ban sales of the game on video game consoles and PCs.

Fedorov said: "As Mundfish has management and offices, there is a potential risk that money raised from the purchases of the game will be transferred to Russia's budget, so it will be used to fund the war against Ukraine."

But Mundfish claimed it was pro-peace. It didn't say if it had any offices in Russia.

The Mundfish statement sent to Newsweek said: "We are saddened by what happened, we deny such associations and do everything to stop it.

"Our game development studio is a Cyprus-based international pro-peace organization with employees around the world and a developer hub in Armenia committed to creating entertainment content and has nothing to do with politics.

"We would like to emphasize that we take the unauthorized use of our materials seriously, so we will take appropriate action against any parties who use our materials in an illegal or unacceptable way."

Russian officials have recently encouraged citizens to ignore copyright and pirating laws abroad in a bid to financially cripple foreign companies.

In an interview with state-owned outlet TASS, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev responded to a question about the disappearance of some Western music from online services in the country.

He said: "If they left us, all sorts of Netflix and others, then we will download it all, we will use it for free. And I would scatter it all over the Web in order to cause them maximum damage. Maximum damage so that they go bankrupt."

Numerous companies withdrew and boycotted Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last year.

Among the businesses to leave Russia was McDonald's. Its 850 locations were taken over by the Sistema PBO company.

Because McDonald's continues to retain its trademark in Russia, the new chain is forbidden from using the McDonald's name, logo branding, and menu."

Newsweek has contacted the Army of Russia chain of stores for comment via email.