EU plans to ban sales of gaming equipment to Russia to prevent consoles and controllers from being used to build attack drones
The European Union (EU) has announced that it will ban the sale of gaming equipment to Russia in order to prevent Russian military use of game consoles to control drones, which has been a major factor in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
EU plans ban on sales of video game kit to Russia
European Union Is Reportedly Planning To Ban Video Game Console Sales To Russia - GameSpot
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/european-union-is-reportedly-planning-to-ban-video-game-console-sales-to-russia/1100-6529083/
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas revealed that the EU plans to ban the sale of gaming equipment from 24 February 2025 as a sanctions measure in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'We are looking at all kinds of things that help Russia in the war effort to put them on our sanctions list, and this even includes video game consoles,' Kallas said.
Russia is restricted from purchasing military and electronic parts due to sanctions imposed by Western countries. As a result, Russia is purchasing sensitive technology to strengthen its military from suppliers in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and China, forcing it to innovate. The three major game console manufacturers, Microsoft of the United States, Nintendo of Japan, and Sony of Japan, stopped selling game consoles in Russia in early March 2022. Therefore, the EU's sanctions will target EU businesses that send any game consoles to Russia, including second-hand dealers.
According to EU officials, the sanctions will apply not only to game consoles, but also to other input devices that can remotely control drones, such as game controllers, flight simulator controllers, joysticks, etc. The Financial Times has reached out to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft for comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.
According to trade data from the Financial Times, China is Russia's top supplier, selling more than $120 million worth of game consoles and home appliances to Russia in 2024. The market size for this genre in 2022, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, i.e. before economic sanctions by Western countries, was about $30 million.
'Drones and remote controllers are essential for military drone operations and should definitely be banned,' said Olena Birousova, an expert on military and dual-use goods at the Kyiv School of Economics. 'Even if the EU bans the sale of gaming equipment, it will not have a significant impact, as most operators rely on Chinese-made controllers available on Russian online markets.'
The EU has almost completely banned gas and oil imports from Russia since the Ukraine war, but as a result, imports of Russian liquefied natural gas have surged, hitting a record high in 2024. Karas said that 'chemicals necessary for Russia's defense industry' will also be included in the new sanctions list, which would include liquefied natural gas.
The EU has set a goal of moving away from all Russian fossil fuels by 2027, and has already banned coal imports from Russia and set price caps for offshore oil with international partners. According to the European Commission, the EU's policy enforcement body, the proportion of EU pipeline gas imports from Russia has already shrunk to about 10% as of 2024.
Three diplomats told the Financial Times that the proposed package would also include measures to restrict Russian imports of aluminum, though it's unclear whether the EU would ban the light metal or impose punitive tariffs that would make it unaffordable. Any such sanctions would require unanimous approval by the 27 EU member states.
In addition, it has been reported that not only Russia but also Ukraine is using game consoles as military weapons for war.
An army using Steam Deck to remotely control machine gun turrets appears in Ukraine - GIGAZINE
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