BLINDFLUG STUDIOS DONATES NET PROCEEDS OF UKRAINE SUPERPOWER SALES
In February this year, Russia launched an invasion into Ukrainian territory, triggering a devastating conflict which is still ongoing. This act of war has left the world in a state of shock; it has torn families apart, killed countless civilians and has left a country in need of help.
We at Blindflug Studios feel strongly about the war, as we have employees of Ukrainian origin. It goes without saying that we stand with them and their people in these troubling times. This senseless war must end and Russia must give up the occupied regions immediately. We wish for all the families to be reunited once again to help begin to rebuild their country.
First Strike has always been a game which intended to spread awareness regarding the dangers of nuclear weapons and show what kind of devastation nuclear wars could have on the world. Accordingly, the game has represented key actors in nuclear history; the United States, North Korea and Russia being the three biggest contributors to nuclear weapons.
As the First Strike fans will know, Ukraine is currently part of the game. The history behind Ukraine’s presence in First Strike lies with the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 where Ukraine offered to give up their nuclear arsenal which they had inherited after the fall of the Soviet Union in return for a recognized and guaranteed independence, an agreement which has since been violated by Russia.
The Ukraine update was released in April. The timing of the release was unfortunate, to say the least. However, the planning, production and preparation for the Ukraine update had already been in the works in November, months before its release and before the conflict. When the war broke out, the update was ready to be launched, and we chose not to abandon the project. Upon release, Apple had rejected the update, claiming that having Ukraine as a Superpower was a sensitive issue at the time. We fully respect this decision by Apple. To this day, Ukraine is not a part of the game for iOS users. It remains an Android-only feature.
Since the update, Blindflug Studios has made the decision that all the revenue made from the in-app purchase for Ukraine would be donated to a charity to support their efforts in the war. The charity in question is the Mriya Aid, a network of experts dedicated to helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. It has been six months since the update, and we have decided to donate the first round of support to Mriya Aid. With your help, we have managed to collect 1’417,11 USD! We sincerely wish we could have donated more, but as we are a small indie studio, this was all we could collect from the update thus far.
In support of their cause, we have decided to incorporate their donation goal with Operation Armament and DEFCON 1. For every 1 USD you donate to Mriya Aid, 10 points will be added to the DEFCON Bar! Simply add the key word First Strike to your note when you do your donation and send a screenshot of your receipt to firststrike@blindflugstudios.com. The donations will go towards funding for the Ukrainian war effort!
Blindflug Studios remains strongly in support of Ukraine, and we sincerely hope that we will have a fully free Ukraine again and peace.
Slava Ukraini
The Blindflug Studios Team
If you want to stay informed and learn more about the crisis, we recommend listening to the regular MriyaReport Spaces on Twitter.
