Mundfish, the developer behind Atomic Heart, has replied to the criticism recently obtained regarding its position on Ukraine and its censure of the Russian government. Through a tweet, the studio declared that it won’t make any remarks on political issues or religion, implying that they will not be shifting their stance - or the lack of one - before the release of Atomic Heart.

This follows allegations that Mundfish utilized funds that originated from Russian businesses and banks that are of critical importance to the Russian government’s operations. As a consequence, there are worries that the earnings of the video game could be used to finance the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine, a subject Mundfish has made it evident that it has no intentions to tackle.

The developers at Mundfish have noticed the queries regarding their opinion on the conflict in Ukraine, beginning their statement by bringing it up.

Mundfish is a development and production company made up of members from all over the world. Our mission is to make engaging, creative video games and to promote peace and oppose any use of force against people. This is an unmistakable stance that we take.

We do not provide statements regarding political issues or religious doctrines. We will not approve any messages containing derogatory, prejudiced, violent, or threatening words or content coming from external sources.

This reaction does not include who specifically was engaged in the violence, thus it did not satisfy the critics of Mundfish. This statement still does not make a position on the issue, exactly what Mundfish was being reproached for in the beginning. Furthermore, it does not mention the claims that Mundfish had relationships with sanctioned Russian enterprises.

The developers of Atomic Heart are being asked to publicly express their views on the war because the game seemingly portrays the Russian military and KGB in an unbiased or even positive light. As the Russian military is attempting to strongly promote loyalty to the country, numerous people desire for Mundfish to rebuke these actions so that Atomic Heart does not reinforce such patriotism.

Jason Wojnar from TheGamers reported that Mundfish has started to stop individuals from asking it to respond to the claims. This has led to Mundfish being suspected of deliberately promoting Russian propaganda, something which it has not talked about in its declaration.

Atomic Heart is set to come out on February 21, 2023 and takes place in an alternate universe in which the Soviet Union was victorious against the Nazis in the 1940’s. Because of the sensitive political context, there have been reports suggesting Mundfish is being hypocritical. It is uncertain if Focus Entertainment will make a public statement about it.