A few days ago, AIN.Capital published a report accusing Atomic Heart’s developers, Mundfish, of collecting data for Russian authorities on their shop website. According to the report, there was a clause on the website informing users that their data could be collected and shared with Russian authorities such as the tax authority or the security service FSB. The developers behind Atomic Heart have long been based in Russia and are often associated with the country. However, they deny the allegations and point out that their headquarters are now in Cyprus and that they employ an international team of developers who have nothing to do with the Russian Federation.
Atomic Hearts funded by Russian investors?
A few days ago we reported on the controversy surrounding the Russian developer behind Atomic Hearts. At that time it was about allegations that Mundfish was receiving money from the Russian government. Of course, the developer denied this, but a small shitstorm flared up, especially on Twitter, because Mundfish had not directly distanced itself from the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The current allegations made by AIN.Capital relate to the developer’s backers: According to the report, Mundfish was funded “by Russian investors”, including an ex-Gazprom manager. Also, the official address of the development studio in Moscow would be indicated on the website.
Another allegation deals with the clauses that could be found on the developer’s shop website: It probably said there that data could be collected from users and passed on to the Russian authorities. Furthermore, “Russian mobilization laws under which soldiers are currently being recruited in Russia to continue the criminal war against Ukraine” were found in the website’s guidelines.
Developer denies allegations
In a statement, however, the developers of Atmoic Heart deny the allegations. The privacy policies discovered by AIN.Capital are “outdated and incorrect”.
“Our game and website do not collect any information or data”said a spokesman for the company. “The website’s privacy policy is outdated and incorrect and should have been removed years ago. We have taken the shop website offline so that we can reassure our fans of the integrity of our studio and product. We apologize for any confusion regarding this matter .”
According to the developer’s website, Mundfish is an “international team” of developers from countries such as Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Georgia, Israel, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Cyprus. Whether the allegations will affect the game in the same way as the allegations leveled against Hogwarts Legacy remains to be seen.
However, the fact that the developer keeps talking about being “not political” is somewhat absurd when you consider the scenario Atomic Heart (buy now €69.41 / €53.99 ) It is set in an alternate reality in which Russia won WWII outright. The protagonist is a KGB agent from the Soviet Union in 1955. You can find out more about the setting and gameplay of the game in our preview.
Sources: AIN.Capital, GamesRadar
