Tokyo, Mar 5 (IANS): Japanese gaming giant Nintendo has temporarily put its Russian eShop into maintenance mode, the company said in a notice on its Russian website.

According to The Verge, it appears to mean that players in the country cannot buy digital games from the store.

"Due to the fact that the payment service used in Nintendo eShop has suspended the processing of payments in rubles, Nintendo eShop in Russia is temporarily placed into maintenance mode," according to a Google-translated version of the message.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused," it added.

It is unclear what payment service Nintendo uses.

Many gaming companies have taken action in protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. EA and CD Projekt Red have halted sales of their games in Russia and Belarus.

Microsoft suspended all new sales of "Microsoft products and services" in Russia, a phrasing that seems to include Xbox hardware and software.