NetherRealm has seemingly blocked online functionality for Mortal Kombat 1 in Russia and Belarus, joining the boycott put in place following the invasion of Ukraine last year. However, players in these regions say they were able to play online during the stress test, and therefore bought the game expecting to be able to use these features on launch day.

The Metacritic pages for Mortal Kombat 1 are flooded with frustrated players, complaining that they can't claim the Shang Tsung pre-order bonus, or even play through the Invasion mode. It doesn't seem that NetherRealm or Warner Bros. Games warned players in Russia and Belarus that this would be the case, leaving fans in these regions frustrated, spamming the Metacritic pages with zero-star reviews.

Despite their frustrations, Russian-speaking fans online had already noted that Mortal Kombat 1 was incredibly difficult to purchase in the region. In most cases, these would-be players would have had to buy the game through a Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox account set in another country. Still, the fact that the stress test had worked just fine led many to believe that they could play online as usual, as long as they bought the game from another region's storefront.

Due to the backlash, the PS5 version of Mortal Kombat 1 sits at a 5.8/10 on Metacritic, and it's still falling. Warner Bros. hasn't responded to these complaints, but given that boycotts in Russia and Belarus are incredibly commonplace now, it's unlikely that it will - and even more unlikely that the decision will be reversed. Pre-order bonuses are unlikely to be refunded too, as they would have had to be bought in other regions that could access them.

This is hardly the first time a game has pulled support from Russia and Belarus. Recently, Russian language support was dropped from Starfield. Now that the game is out, many are saying they can't buy the game in the region at all.

Even if a developer wanted to sell in Russia and Belarus, it would be difficult. As soon as Russia invaded Ukraine, the big three - Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft - were quick to halt all new sales in the region. As Putin's war continues, the boycotts likely will as well, as many show their solidarity with Ukraine by isolating Russia and its allies.

Mortal Kombat 1 isn't even fully released yet, so the situation might still change. It's been available early for anyone with a premium edition of the game since September 14. For everyone else, it will go live on September 19.



Posted: Sep 19, 2023 7:37 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/mortal-kombat-1-review-bombed-blocked-in-russia-and-belarus-cant-play-online/