WTF?! Dmitry Glukhovsky, the Russian science fiction writer who penned the Metro series and collaborated with 4A Games on the video game versions, has been placed on Russia's wanted list for publicly criticizing the country's war with Ukraine.
Glukhovsky's Telegram post revealed he has been accused of discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in one of his Instagram posts. "I am ready to repeat everything said there: 'Stop the war! Admit that this is a war against an entire nation and stop it!'" he wrote.
BBC Russia writes that Moscow's Basmanny district court ordered Glukhovsky's arrest in absentia on May 13.
Days after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia introduced a law that prohibited the spreading of "fake" news about what it has long claimed is a "special military operation" designed to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine while protecting its Russian speakers. Those convicted of breaking this law face up to 15 years in prison.
Reuters reports that Glukhovsky, who also worked as a journalist in Israel and covered the Second Lebanon War in 2006, is the first major cultural figure to be placed on the wanted list. He no longer resides in Russia.
Glukhovsky worked closely with studio 4A Games on the development of the Metro franchise. The Ukrainian company, which is currently working on a new Metro game, had already relocated from the country to Malta back in 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The impact of Russia's invasion has been far-reaching across the technology and gaming industries. From Taiwan restricting chip exports to those under 25 MHz and Google Russia filing for bankruptcy, to Euro Truck Simulator's Heart of Russia DLC being canceled and Sherlock Holmes studio Frogwares relocating out of Kyiv, thanks to a grant from Epic Games.