Russia's Winter Olympics Ban Doesn't Carry Over to Steep's New Olympics DLC [Updated]

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Update: Ubisoft responded: "There are no existing plans to patch Russia out of Steep Road to the Olympics."

In an unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee announced yesterday that Russia would be banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. That puts Steep: Road to the Olympics, which also launched yesterday, in a somewhat awkward position.

In the new expansion to Ubisoft's skiing and snowboarding sim, you can participate in events in 2018 Winter Olympics, with events including the halfpipe, slalom, and ski jump.

Before you begin, you're invited to choose which country you wish to represent. And as it happens, Russia is one of your options.

As you complete events, you will also frequently find yourself pitted against Russian athletes.

In real life, Russians are still allowed to participate, but they must do so under the neutral banner of "Olympic Athletes from Russia." Furthermore, the Russian national anthem won't be played if they manage to win a medal.

The ban is Russia's punishment for a massive state-sponsored doping scheme.

Steep: Road to the Olympics is currently available for purchase on all platforms. It builds on last year's release, which I called messy and unfocused in my review.

With the judgment coming down the same day as launch, Ubisoft obviously hasn't had enough time to remove Russia. We reached out to Ubisoft to see if they have any plans to eventually remove them from Steep: Road to the Olympics' roster. We'll let you know what they have to say if they respond.