Last year, Nintendo put its eShop in “maintenance mode” in Russia, preventing access to the eShop for customers in the country. Now, the company has made it official: Nintendo has stopped all sales in Russia.
Nintendo of Europe announced that on May 31, 2023, the company will stop all new eShop sales in Russia. This means that you will not be able to make any new purchases from the store or redeem digital codes. Nintendo says that all credit card information and PayPal details will be deleted for security reasons and that you will not be able to create new Nintendo Accounts as long as Russia is set as the country.
The good news is that users with a Russian eShop account will still be able to download previously purchased games and DLC “for the foreseeable future.” It is unclear at this time how long Nintendo plans to keep the eShop available for these users.
“Starting on May 31, 2023, and for the foreseeable future, customers in Russia with an existing Nintendo Account will be able to re-download digital content they have previously purchased. [the] Nintendo eShop in Russia.”
We’ve reached out to Nintendo for further comment and will update this story when we hear back.
Both Microsoft and Sony halted all sales from Russia more than a year ago as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Game studios like Epic, Activision Blizzard and EA made similar moves and stopped selling in the country at the same time. Joining Nintendo in the mix means that none of the major console makers currently allow Russian users to buy new games in the country.
