Valve has blocked access to controversial shooter Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the UK version of Steam.
404 Media reports that the title has been removed from the platform for UK consumers on the back of a request from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU).
Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque was released in 2022 and has players take on the role of a Palestinian soldier attacking Israeli Defense Force soldiers. It has since been updated – with the release of Operation al-Aqsa Flood – to allow feature elements of the October 7th attacks. So no prizes for figuring out why the game has attracted the attention of the UK counter-terrorism bodies.
"The CTIRU works closely with a range of technology, social media and online service providers, but we do not comment on specific content or any communication we may have with specific platforms or providers," a spokesperson for the organisation said.
Developer Nidal Nijm added: "I do not blame Valve nor Steam, the blame is on the UK government and authorities that are pissed off by a video game. On their flawed logic, the most recent Call of Duty Black Ops 6 should be banned as well. As you play as an American soldier and go to Iraq to kill Iraqi people. What I can say is that we see clearly the double standards."
Read more on pcgamesinsider.biz