While the war between Russia and Ukraine wages on, some game developers have revealed that they are unable to receive the earnings they made on Steam due to economic sanctions. New rules were added to the bank that Valve uses and cannot wire money to accounts in Russia and Ukraine. Multiple game developers have shared the situation over Twitter and say that they will need to wait and possibly open accounts in foreign banks to make sure they get their money.
Ukrainian developer Stas Shostak was one who shared the situation on Twitter. Shostak received a message from Steam saying “Due to the current environment, we are unable to send bank payments to Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.” A day later, after wondering what was going on, Shostak shared more about the situation and revealed how Valve is trying to fix the problem.
Ternox Games, another developer also shared that they are unable to receive income from Steam. Like Shostak, Ternox Games also received the explanation and has to wait too.
Valve told PC Gamer that the company must collect “intermediary banking information” from users in order to make payments to bank accounts located in Ukraine and Russia. “Any outstanding account balances will be paid as soon as they can be sent,” Valve says. “We know this is super frustrating for all involved, and are hoping to find a better resolution soon.”
Stas Shostak also spoke to PC Gamer about the situation with Valve, Steam, and the banks. “I’m not sure about April. Will they really sort it out between the banks, or will Ukraine still be cut out just in case? All my Ukrainian game dev friends report the same situation. Some (me included) are just waiting for the next month, some decided to open accounts in foreign banks to be completely sure they get the next payment.”