Is Final Fantasy XVI Banned In Saudi Arabia?

When video game companies make titles of a certain nature, they know there is a chance that the ESRB or certain other ratings boards worldwide may look at the games and give them a slightly higher rating than they were hoping for. For example, some games have had to scale down the violence they showed so they didn’t get the dreaded “AO,” aka “Adults Only,” rating. Instead, they fight for an “M” at the most so that people won’t be afraid to get their title. But in one country, Final Fantasy XVI might have to risk not releasing there for a different reason.

As noted by VGC, the head of the General Commission for Audiovisual Media in Saudi Arabia made a post stating that Final Fantasy XVI won’t be released in Saudi Arabia and put the blame on Square Enix for not “adjusting the game to the region:”

“We would like to clarify that it has not been released in the Kingdom, due to the publisher’s unwillingness to make the necessary modifications.”

This was the follow-up to another post made earlier in the week about the situation:

“Unfortunately, after all our attempts over the past eight months without any success, one of the most important and biggest games of the year is on its way to being banned due to the company’s complete refusal to modify the content to suit the region.”

But why is the game being banned in Saudi Arabia? The word is that it’s due to how the game has an LGBTQ+ character and that they are shown being in a relationship with someone of their same orientation. Saudi Arabia considers such relationships a crime, a big difference from much of the rest of the world.

Square Enix’s refusal to either get rid of or alter the character and their orientation for “the region” is a strong stance to take, and it sets a tone for what could come next from the company. LGBTQ+ representation in video games has come under fire recently by those who hate it in all its forms, but others who are more open-minded hope to see more characters like them in future titles.

Sadly, this is the world we live in, and it’s something we’ll need to adapt to and attempt to do the right thing when something like this pops up.

Even with the loss of Saudi Arabia, Square Enix is undoubtedly confident that their upcoming RPG will do fine.