12 Most Banned Games in the World [Updated 2024]

Today, we examine which are the all-time most controversial banned games in the world in which countries, and how they ended up on the Most Banned Games List.

Some games can be banned in some countries due to content such as high violence and sexuality. The reason why some games are banned is much more unusual. Cultural differences, political messages, history.

Table of Content

Most Controversial and Banned Games in the World

Many games have been censored or completely blocked in various countries for these and similar reasons over the years. In addition to the games that deserve censorship with absurd and meaningless provocations, poor games with no blame will also take their places on this list.

1) God Of War

God Of War is one of the most banned and controversial games of all time. The game series, which drew great reaction in various countries of the world due to its violence, sexuality, and religious themes, was also subjected to various bans.

The inclusion of the word “God” in the title of the game, which was blocked by Saudi Arabia due to “interactive adult scenes and nudity”, also caused a reaction in the country and created a reason for the bans.

However, the “god” in the play did not represent the religion of Islam, but the gods of Greek mythology. Unfortunately, these poor gods are also hunted by Kratos and beaten with data.

The game was also subject to short-term obstacles due to its violent content in countries such as Brazil and Germany, but these countries realized that violence was used against imaginary beings and that much of the game had puzzle-solving mechanics and lifted the ban.

In Arab countries, the ban on God of War games has never been lifted, but countries have only deemed it appropriate to release God of War 4, which was released in 2018.

2) Pokemon

I’m sure you didn’t expect such a game on the list. What could Pokemon, an innocent children’s cartoon series and game series, have done? Saudi officials unfortunately do not think the same way.

Pokemon was blocked in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt for reasons such as “promoting gambling and Zionism” and “glorifying evolution”. Even Saudi religious leaders went as far as issuing a fatwa against the game.

Speaking of Pokemon, did you know that Pokemon Go is banned in Malaysia for “power-seeking”? This state, which is still ruled by a monarchy, seems to be disturbed by the actors’ “search for power” for religious and political reasons.

3) Saints Row

Sexuality, violence, black humor, drugs… Saints Row was a very contrary game when it was released. The play, which was censored in Germany due to the bloody scenes of violence, was also banned in Australia because it encouraged drugs.

The United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, banned physical versions of the game due to themes of sexuality, drugs, and alcohol, while opting not to touch the digital versions.

The humorous sense of the game, where we can beat people up with adult toys, and contain lots of crime and illegal activity, does not seem to appeal to every environment.

4) PUBG

PUBG, which has shaken the mobile gaming industry in recent years, has been blocked for a while in Jordan, Iran, Nepal, and India due to its “negative effects” on citizens.

Although these negative effects are expressed as violence and cyberbullying, I do not doubt that countries take into account the negative impact on the workforce. There were reports from the region that players could not get rid of their PUBG addiction even on the job.

5) Manhunt

Ah, Manhunt… Rockstar Games will be the most recurring name on this list because they always manage to be the focus of the reaction.

The uncensored version of Manhunt was banned in England, New Zealand, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and of course, Germany, which is known for its strict game rules.

Countries generally reported the reasons for the ban as “disgusting, relentless and gratuitous violence” and “extremely bloody scenes”. When some of the violent scenes were censored and softened, most countries allowed the game.

It is possible to understand the countries’ reservations about violence because, in the game, we put our enemies in garbage disposers and blow their heads with a baseball bat.

This game, which offers players creative killing opportunities, may have been seen as quite alarming in 2003, although it is not very impressive by today’s standards.

6) GTA

The GTA series, which comes to mind when it comes to the most banned games in the world, has been accused of encouraging theft, alcohol, drugs, and murder in many parts of the world for years.

Some countries have made great efforts to keep the games of the GTA series away from their countries instead of educating their people against crimes.

Even Greece, which did not get involved in the games with milk, censored GTA 4 because it found it too bloody. Not surprisingly, Germany stamped and blocked almost every GTA game with violence, countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia also banned the reception of games in their countries for reasons such as violence, alcohol, and nudity.

Countries like Brazil and Australia followed these countries. In some countries such as America, a logical solution has been applied and the age limit of the game has been increased. Do these countries that ban games because of violence also filter all content on TV and books?

Are the bans enough? It wasn’t enough. The “Casino” feature, which was recently added to the game, was blocked in countries we are accustomed to such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Oman because it encourages gambling, while countries such as Poland, Portugal, and Argentina were added to them.

7) Rapelay

Next on our list is a nasty game. Released in 2006 by a Japanese company called Illusion Soft, the game had a sickly theme. The game, whose main character is a pervert in the true sense of the word, and includes extremes such as harassment and rape, quickly garnered a great reaction.

We cannot afford to share more details about the game, and there is nothing to be defended in any way. The game was completely banned in many countries, including China, Argentina, and New Zealand.

8) Mortal Kombat

Fight, blood, brutality! Mortal Kombat is undoubtedly one of the best fighting games ever. But it has managed to attract the reaction of many countries with its bloody and realistic graphics. Not surprisingly, we start with Germany.

In Germany, Mortal Kombat games were banned until 2020 due to excessive violence and gore content! In addition, many countries such as South Korea and Malaysia have imposed various bans on the game.

The characters in Mortal Kombat are gods, super-powerful people, robots, etc. can be listed as. The violent elements in the game are also fantastic. In the game, we can do interesting actions such as splitting our enemies into two, removing the backbone like a fishbone, and removing the heart.

When playing a fighting game with restrictions over the age of 18, people should immediately consult a psychologist if they adhere to these movements, because the guilty game is not the game but the brains of these people.

9) Bully

Bully is another game produced by Rockstar Games. The game, which we can encounter with elements such as violence and sexuality while shaping your school life, was reacted and banned in Brazil because it took place in a school.

Moreover, this ban was not lifted until 2016. While various steps were taken to ban the game in England, these could not be implemented, only some companies gave up selling the game.

10) Carmageddon

Carmageddon, where cars collide and try to explore each other race, is a game that has been banned in the UK, Germany, and Brazil and has attracted great reaction.

The game, which quite normalized the concept of “crushing pedestrians by car”, was not welcomed in countries that wanted to maintain civil order.

After the pedestrians in the game were replaced with green aliens, the bans in these countries were relaxed. I guess aliens are not valued as much as human beings.

11) Wolfenstein

At a time when games were just getting famous, Wolfenstein 3D was equipped with Nazi symbols and was very violent for its time. Germany found the content of the game too offensive and decided to block it.

As the later Wolfenstein games took place in a similar atmosphere, in an alternative Nazi universe, and even openly portrayed Hitler as a character, almost all games disturbed Germany quite a lot.

While Germany was afraid of any re-entry of fascist ideas, Saudi Arabia chose another reason to prevent Wolfenstein: adult scenes. Did you know that games such as Wolfenstein, Metro, Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption, Heavy Rain, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, and Watch Dogs are blocked for various reasons in Saudi Arabia?

12) Last of Us Part 2

Last of Us is one of the most important games in the hearts of game lovers. We are witnessing Joel and Ellie’s journey in this post-apocalyptic world where we excite and cry together with the characters.

The next ban is of the really sad kind, Last of Us’s second highly anticipated game is banned because it contains “homosexuality”. In what countries? Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates… Our character, Ellie’s interest in her fellows caused the game to create great fear in these countries.

Conclusion

Here we come to the end of our list of the most banned games in the world. Some of the games that were banned because they encouraged extreme violence and illegal behavior were subjected to censorship and prohibitions for reasons we cannot understand.

While video game producers keep diseased content away from their games, government agencies that are obliged to “ban” games should not take away people’s pleasure for funny reasons.