EA Removes Russia And Belarus From E-sports Program, Gamers Can't Join Apex Legends Global Series

JAKARTA – Electronic Arts Inc (EA) announced on Wednesday, March 16 that it will remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries from its esports program. This is done by the video game publishing company in an effort to double down on boycotts of these countries after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Gamers and teams from Russia and Belarus are now ineligible to participate in the Apex Legends Global Series and EA SPORTS FIFA 22 Global Series, the company said in a statement on its website.

The invasion of Ukraine has prompted an exodus of global companies out of Russia. Boycotts have also extended to sport, with sports bodies such as FIFA and UEFA suspending Russia's national teams and clubs from international football.

As reported by Reuters, earlier this month, EA also stopped selling its games, content, and virtual currency in Russia and Belarus.

The publisher of this video game game "FIFA" has also removed the Russian national team and all Russian football clubs from its popular videogame title "FIFA 22".