I love me some Blizzard gaming. Diablo III continues to keep me clicking away merrily, and every now and then, Heroes of the Storm distracts me from that other MOBA I play. Take those games away from me,and I would be a very sad panda. That’s the horrible reality that gamers in Crimea are facing at the moment. Due to ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Blizzard have had to suspend their service, Battle.net, in the region, and thus, deny Crimean’s access to the titles above along with the likes of World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Starcraft too.
This is a result of US imposed sanctions, namely Executive Order 13684, which was signed last year, December 19 (via PC Gamer). Simply put, this order prevents certain transactions within the Crimea Region of Ukraine – including that of Battle.net.
Blizzard have sent out the following email to those affected (PC Gamer via The Moscow Times)
“You are receiving this email because, in accordance with current trade regulations relating to the region of Crimea, we are legally required to suspend access to your Battle.net account. Any recurring subscription payment will be cancelled. We are sincerely sorry that you’re being impacted in this way; if the situation changes, we will happily do our best to restore access to your account.”
If like me, your first thought was “at least they still have Steam”, it turns out Valve already cut access to their service way back in January (via Venture Beat). This limits the potential of PC gaming pretty drastically in that region, particularly online play.
One can only hope that the political situation between those two countries is ironed out as soon as possible. Not only are their economies suffering , their gamers are too.
Last Updated: April 10, 2015
Johann
April 10, 2015 at 22:10
Do you want to start a war against America, because that’s how you start a war against America. Imagine they say all access to Steam, Blizzard, Origins, etc is cut in SA. That will be one riot I’ll be willing to take part in.
RustedFaith
April 11, 2015 at 09:00
Just turn to the pirate life 🙂
HairyEwok
April 13, 2015 at 08:30
Why bother, at this rate you wont have power to log into any of those programs.
silverscorpio
April 10, 2015 at 23:13
The way this Country is going on now, I am really scared that Sanctions will be imposed on SA in the future. The world has clearly lost their love for this Country and our esteemed leaders’ attitude towards the West, or any real Democratic Country that has a working economy and infrastructure better than ours, does not bode well for our future or for gaming.
Sovereign
April 11, 2015 at 05:36
Don’t worry. I’m an American born and raised. I have spent my years living from paycheck to paycheck, but reading your comment has awakened something deep inside. I shall now devote my life to rising through the ranks of my federal government until I am in a position of power that will allow me to mandate that all online gaming will be immune to any kind of sanctions. While our leaders may not get along, the gamers of our nations will form a bond as strong as a brotherhood.
Brothers to the end….
RustedFaith
April 11, 2015 at 09:01
Inspirational stuff 🙂
silverscorpio
April 11, 2015 at 15:05
Go Brother, lobby the hell out of gaming in Washington. It might be a good idea to get all the leaders to play Civilization where culture can expand influence. They must understand that sanctions do not work. You can change a wrong attitude of a country by immersing their people in your culture (Movies, Video Games, Etc) and let them know they do have a choice. It is stupid to cut them off because then your culture do not expand.
Joe Black
April 12, 2015 at 01:08
Amen brother. The right to flame each other on-line needs to be sacrosanct.
Ryanza
April 11, 2015 at 10:13
Get the idea why DRM is such a bad idea. Diablo 3 an online only single player game on the PC, now doesn’t work after paying for the game.
Don’t Support DRM.
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:18
Get the idea why DRM is asasssuch a bad idea. Diablo 3 an online only single player game on the PC, now doesn’t work after paying for the game
https://www.facebook.com/DyingLightFreeDownload
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:19
he way this Country is going on now, I am really scared that Sanctions will be imposed on SA in the future. The world has clearly lost their love for this Country and our esteemed leaders’
Dying Light Free Download
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:23
Diablo 3 an online only single player game on the PC, now doesn’t work after paying for the gam
https://www.facebook.com/NBA2K15FreeDownloadPCGame
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:23
Don’t worry. I’m an American born and raised. I have spent my years living from paycheck to paycheck, but reading your comment has awakened something deep inside.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-or-Alive-5-Last-Round-Free-Download/399145020257183?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:24
attitude towards the West, or any real Democratic Country that has a working economy and infrastructure better than ours, does not bode well for our future or for gaming.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Battlefield-Hardline-Free-Download/755860784528168?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:24
I shall now devote my life to rising through the ranks of my federal government until I am in a position of power that will allow me to mandate that all online gaming will be immune to any kind of sanctions. While our leaders may not get along, the gamers of our nations will form a bond as strong as a brotherhood.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fifa-15-Crack-and-CD-KeySerial/417871485033408?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:24
Do you want to start a war against America, because that’s how you start a war against America. Imagine they say all access to Steam, Blizzard, Origins, etc is cut in SA.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Geometry-Dash-v19-Free-Download/577683512364602?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:25
The world has clearly lost their love for this Country and our esteemed leaders’
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Farming-Simulator-2015-free-download/310787819111734?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:25
say all access to Steam, Blizzard, Origins, etc is cut in SA. That will be one riot I’ll be willing to take part in.
https://www.facebook.com/Batmanarkhamknightfreedownload?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:25
now doesn’t work after paying for the play i used jashakdha ada
https://www.facebook.com/ModernSniperCheatHack?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:26
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Clancys-The-Division-Download/1548078262096774?ref=bookmarks
While our leaders may not get along, the gamers of our nations will form a bond as strong as a brotherhood.
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:26
all access to Steam, Blizzard, Origins, etc is cut in SA. That will be one riot I’ll be willing to take part in.https://www.facebook.com/pages/Youtubeget-Free-Download-Full-Version/1727341947490214
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:27
ADADFall acSFScess to Steam, BlizzaFASFrd, Origins, etc is cut in SA. That will be one riot I’ll sasa.d
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Evil-Within-Free-Download-Full-Version/1487275218203586?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:27
Leaders may not get along, the gamers of our nations will form a bond as strong as a brotherhOOD ASLLO ilke politics
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Halo-5-Guardians-Free-Download-Full/920419884642358?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:28
politics is servive in the world i like democrazy https://www.facebook.com/PlantsvsZombiesGardenWarfareFreeDownloadPcGame?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:28
https://www.facebook.com/FaceRigfreedownload?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:28
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Final-Fantasy-XX-2-HD/1048728661807783?ref=bookmarks
dasdhask
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:29
ata lhlhsa ljajsahui ass hsal jahsaytsya s
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naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:29
along, the gamer along, the gamer along, the gamer
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Evil-Within-Download-Full-Game-PC-Torrent-Crack/664484336997403?ref=bookmarks
naaz
April 11, 2015 at 12:29
Get the idea why DRM is asasssuch a bad idea. Diablo 3 an online only single player game on the PC, now doesn’t work after paying for the game
https://www.facebook.com/FirstTouchSoccer2015Cheat
Joe Black
April 12, 2015 at 01:06
A good illustration of how all this war shite just causes problems for normal people.
Kromas is drunk with power!
April 12, 2015 at 15:11
They should have called it Blizzard Order 66. 😛