20 Most Controversial Games of the 2020s (So Far)

Atomic Heart is an extremely cool-looking game which also became a massive controversy-magnet in record time.

There was a major backlash over Russian-founded developer Mundfish, namely their refusal to speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine or offer any sort of statement on the matter. Instead, Mundish opted to quietly downplay mentions of Russia in their corporate literature.

This led to criticism from The Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, which opined that Atomic Heart "romanticises communist ideology and the Soviet Union," and even the game's February 21 release date drew criticism for coinciding with the first anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. 

Mundfish later called itself a neutral party that doesn't comment on politics or religion - a stance which many further criticised as a cop-out.

Elsewhere Atomic Heart also caught flak for featuring a racist caricature in one of the cartoons that can be watched in-game, which was later removed, and of course who can forget all the fuss made about the game's incredibly horny fridge?

Ultimately none of this - not even a threat to boycott the game due to its murky politics - prevented Atomic Heart from selling more than 10 million units, enough that a sequel is already deep in development.