Mundfish

Mundfish is a company that develops video games for consoles and personal computers. It was founded in 2017 and is run by team members located across the globe in ten countries. The company launched its flagship game, Atomic Heart, in February 2023.

Mundfish states it develops unique games for its users. The first game it released, Atomic Heart, is a first-person shooter role-playing game (RPG) that takes place in an alternative Soviet Union in 1955. Players encounter various enemies, including robots, that they have to fight. The game can be played on consoles including PS4 and Xbox as well as on personal computer (PC) operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows.

It was reported that Atomic Heart reached five million players within the first month of its release. Mundfish has stated that it will continue developing downloadable content (DLC) for the game to add new content and develop the story within the game.

There were calls to ban Mundfish's Atomic Heart almost as soon as it was released. There are concerns about there being a connection between Mundfish and Russia. The accused connections include receiving funds from Russian investors as well as having given users' data information to the FSB, the Federal Security Service in Russia. One of the founders also has connections to Russian companies, including a social network that has been leveraged to spread pro-Russia content and news.

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorovc used Twitter to encourage companies associated with Mundfish, including Sony, PlayStation, Microsoft, Steam, Valve, and Xbox, to stop selling the game. Fedorovc and other critics have voiced concerns that revenue made from sales of Atomic Heart could go toward funding the Russian military with its efforts in the war against Ukraine.

It has also been said that the game itself was developed with content that is pro-Russian propaganda and in favor of the invasion of Ukraine. It portrays the alternative communist USSR as a utopia with symbols of the former country throughout the game, including hammers and sickles.

Mundfish has taken steps to distance itself from Russia, including an attempt to bury the fact that the company initially started operating in Moscow, Russia. Several team members, including the founders are Russian. The company has also made statements on its website and social media that it does not have any affiliation with any political organization or government.