Sony blocks PlayStation sales in Russia

• PlayStation announced it suspended hardware and software sales in Russia.
• That means Russians will be unable to buy both PlayStation consoles and games.

Russians have been cut off from buying new PlayStation consoles or games.

Sony announced Wednesday it was suspending all sales in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

"Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine," the company said in a statement. "We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7, and operations of the PlayStation store in Russia."

Sony joins a growing number of gaming companies who have suspended sales in Russia in protest of the invasion.

Microsoft announced last week it was suspending all sales and services in Russia, meaning Russians are now unable to purchase both major consoles PlayStation and Xbox.

The suspensions from both companies came after Ukraine's digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov appealed directly to Xbox and PlayStation to block Russian gamers' accounts.

"We are sure that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression," Fedorov wrote.

It is not clear from Sony's announcement whether Russian PlayStation account holders will lose access to their games.

Sony also announced a donation of $2 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the NGO Save the Children.

Nintendo has not blocked sales of its console the Nintendo Switch, although it stopped selling games on its online shop saying the payment service it uses had stopped processing rubles.