Saudi players will not be able to enjoy the new work of the Final Fantasy saga. “For fans of the Final Fantasy XVI game, we would like to clarify that it will not be released in the Kingdom, due to the publisher’s reluctance to make the necessary changes,” the Saudi public watchdog authority told broadcasters.
The general supervisor in charge of video game classification within the authority, Hattan Tawili, also clarified on Twitter that the government had traded for several months with Square Enix, the game’s developer, without success. “This is one of the most important games of the year. Unfortunately, after all the attempts for the last eight months without success, the game is about to be banned due to the company’s complete refusal to modify the content to suit the region”.
Violence, drugs and homosexuality
However, no details were provided on the country’s requested changes to Square Enix. However, as expected, the reasons for this ban are related to the role-playing game content which, for his new opus, could be more violent than the previous ones. Final Fantasy XVI would also include scenes of prostitution, torture, and drug use, among other things.
Rumors also indicate that the game could also feature actions with a gay couple. A choice that could be the cause of Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to launch this game in the country. In fact, homosexuality is still considered a crime in the country today and is punishable by death.
For the rest of the countries, Final Fantasy XVI will be released on June 22, only on PS5 consoles.
Source: BFM TV
