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Updated: Malaysia has blocked Steam – report

Updated: Malaysia has blocked Steam – report

Update:The publisher of Fight of  Gods has released a statement following Steam being banned in Malaysia. 

"Fight of Gods is a video game that takes a humorous approach to religion in the same way that other entertainment formats have – across television, film, books and theatre," the firm said. 

"The game is not promoting any religious agenda and is not designed to offend. The description of the game on the digital platforms through which it is distributed provide clear guidance on the nature of the game and its content so that people can freely choose whether or not to play it. We fully respect the choice of those who would not wish to play it.

"We are disappointed that such freedom of choice is not given to everyone and in particular that the game has been forcibly removed from sale in Malaysia, although no direct communication has been received by us as to the reasons for this. Nevertheless we respect any rules and censorship imposed in any given territory.

"We have reached out to Steam and are working with them to resolve the situation as soon as possible."

Original story: It appears that Valve’s digital storefront has been banned in Malaysia.

The country’s Malaysian Communications Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked Steam, but there’s no clear reason why this has occurred.

Users attempting to access the site get the following screen (Picture credit: The Malaysian Insight).

It would seem that a title called Fight of Gods might be behind the block, with MCMC previously asking for the sales of this project to be stopped in the region. This arcade fighting release features deities such as Odin, Jesus, Buddha and Moses brawling.

The title launched into Early Access on September 4th.

PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.