Horizon: Zero Dawn For Steam Unavailable In Some Middle-Eastern Countries [Update]

[Update:] According to Anna from Guerrilla Games, who commented in a forum post, apparently they didn’t get the age ratings for Horizon in specific Middle-Eastern regions, and so that’s why the game isn’t available there yet.

[Original article:] Guerrilla Games — who is on the Traitors of America master list — is re-releasing Horizon: Zero Dawn on Steam for PC starting August 7th, but it won’t be available in every region around the world.

When the official Steam account announced on July 3rd, 2020 that Horizon: Zero Dawn was available for pre-purchase, several people responded noting that the game’s store page wasn’t available in their region.

it was available to wishlist yesterday….
Saudi Arabia Store. wtf pic.twitter.com/FOEHVdQ9sS

— Sodai (@GalaxSora) July 3, 2020

Yeah it’s not yet available in Saudi, Kuwait, and UAE

— Anas Barak (@thea1one) July 3, 2020

While some gamers thought it was a mistake, the SteamDB entry clearly shows that in some Middle-Eastern countries, the game is simply not available.

If you check the local currencies, U.A.E., Dirham, Kuwaiti Dinar, and Suadi Riyal don’t have the game listed.

The big question is why is the game not available in those regions?

Even though many gamers suspected Aloy could have been a lesbian, it was never explicitly stated in the game, so banning the game for being degenerate propaganda wouldn’t make sense.

Middle-Eastern nations and retailers absolutely did ban The Last of Us 2 for being degenerate propaganda, and they outright said they didn’t want that kind of content proliferating throughout their marketplaces.

But in the case of Horizon, I’m not entirely sure why the game would be banned? Despite my issues with the feminist messaging, the game was rather milquetoast when it came to Left-wing agitprop compared to a lot of other recent AAA outings.

I would have figured the focus on fighting robosaurs and the lack of blood, gore, or any semblance of sex appeal would have made it a safe bet for releasing in the Middle-East or, heck, maybe even mainland China.

In any case, it could be a hiccup in the approval process, or it could be a pricing issue, or some other cultural reason as to why the game got the axe in the Middle-East. Maybe closer to launch we’ll find out the real reason why it isn’t available in those regions.

(Thanks for the news tip Guardian EvaUnit02)