Saudi Arabia's General Commission for Audiovisual Media has announced that the government's Ministry of Media has not approved Square Enix's role-playing game Final Fantasy XVI for release in Saudi Arabia.
Final Fantasy XVI banned in Saudi Arabia
The government agency did not provide a reason for the ban, but added that Square Enix "is unwilling to make the necessary modifications."
The ESRB rated the game "Mature," describing the game's levels of violence—which include blood spatter, mutilation, dismemberment, impalement, and torture—as well as sexual or suggestive content, including the presence of brothels, a character "fondling and mounting a man in bed," and incidental and character dialogue that references prostitution.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media (formerly the Ministry of Culture and Information) frequently bans the release in the country of games that do not meet the agency's media standards.
Finally, the game will launch on June 22 for PlayStation 5 as a console exclusive until December 31. While an initial livestream trailer listed a PC release, the game's trailers and website do not list a PC version.
Source: Siliconera
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