GamesFPSCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is effectively banned in Kuwait, so Activision is issuing refunds for pre-orders: ‘We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is effectively banned in Kuwait, so Activision is issuing refunds for pre-orders: ‘We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Activision)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is finally here, but if you live in Kuwait you won’t be able to play it, at least not legally:Activisionhas confirmed that the Kuwaiti government has not approved the new shooter for sale in the country.
The effective Black Ops 6 ban in Kuwait was first revealed last week, but came to wider attention following a more recentAPreport. The Kuwaiti government has not commented on the ban, or even acknowledged it, but Activision confirmed in a statement that Black Ops 6 “has not been approved for release in Kuwait.”
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” Activision said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
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For many players that might just be ripped-from-the-’90s-headlines entertainment, but for people who lived through the Iraqi invasion and subsequent US-led assault to evict them, the events of the Gulf War are not so easily trivialized.
“The move to block this game may seem theatrical, because people will find ways to buy this game if they really want it, whether via VPN or pay a premium price in the black market,” a local gaming analyst toldThe New Arab(viaPolygon). “What’s more interesting here is the motivation of the authorities to block a game set in what was a traumatic period for Kuwait—the Gulf War.
“Kuwait, to this day, has difficulty engaging with that specific moment in history, for good or ill.”
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It’s a risk inherent in using real-world events as the backdrop for videogames, and it’s hardly the first time the Call of Duty series has run afoul of one government or another. Activision has attempted to get around those exclusions in some instances—it removed the infamousNo Russianlevel from the Russian edition of Modern Warfare 2, for instance, andcut a clip of Tiananmen Squarefrom a Black Ops – Cold War trailer after complaints from China—but given that Black Ops 6 as a whole turns on Gulf War-related events, that may not be an option here.
I’ve reached out to Activision and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information for comment and will update if I receive a reply.
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