Activision has confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will not be released in Kuwait.
Activision shared this statement to CharlieIntel:
“Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has not been approved for release in Kuwait. At this time, the title will not be available for release in region.
As a result, all pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase.
We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
The Middle East and North Africa region, often abbreviated as MENA, is an emerging market and business region for the video game industry.
We ourselves have often reported on Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games investing in multiple AAA game companies. That includes Activision itself, as well as its rivals. The Saudi government also has a huge investment into esports, via another organization, the Saudi Esports Federation.
There are, of course, also a lot of MENA game developers and gamers. The big markets for video games mainly reside in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Games distributed in the three then go to other countries and places in the region, white, grey, and black markets alike.
It would not be responsible to speculate on the reasons that the Kuwaiti government has not approved the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in the region. Of course, we are aware that the game is partly set in the country, during the Gulf War. That’s the extent of what we can speak to, until Activision or the Kuwaiti government, perhaps really just their regulator, discloses more information.
But then, this is hardly an unusual situation in the industry anymore.
Sony famously stated that they had no intention of ever publishing Team Ninja’s second party title Rise of the Ronin in South Korea, after controversy grew over the title featuring a historical figure widely disliked by Koreans.
Subsequently, GSC Game World chose to block sale and distribution of their upcoming survival shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, in Russia.
If we were honest, most games in the industry today are made for the West and Japan, because these are also the regions with the biggest markets and industries for video games.
If video games were a truly international industry, we may see either two scenarios playing out. Either more video games are made that are banned or denied release in certain countries. Or, less video games are produced that invite such scrutiny and action in the first place.
With all that said, we will certainly look out for more updates on this. It’s possible that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will eventually get the green light in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti regulator may refuse classification, or the country may officially ban the game. But if the game just doesn’t get officially released, gamers in Kuwait may simply resort to the grey market and VPNs to play.
