Final Fantasy 16 is reportedly being banned in some countries, including Saudi Arabia, presumably because of the inclusion of a gay character. LGBTQIA+ content is illegal in a number of countries, and according to a cryptic tweet by a Saudi government employee, it looks like Square Enix refused to modify the content in question.
Could Final Fantasy 16 really be banned over a gay character?
Saudi Arabia’s strict guidelines for audiovisual media have banned several popular games in the region, including God of War and Final Fantasy 15. The tweet in question comes from Hattan Tawili, whose Twitter profile states that he works for Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media and Digital Game Association.
للاسف احد اهم واكبر العاب السنة للاسف بعد كل المحاولات خلال الثمانية اشهر الماضية دون اي جدوى اللعبة في طريقها للمنع لرفض الشركة التام لتعديل المحتوى لتتناسب مع المنطقة (طبعا واضح وش الشي الي صايرين الشركات بس يحطونه بكثرة لسبب وبدون سبب ويرفضون يتعدل??)— Hattan Tawili ™ (@HattanTawili) May 2, 2023
According to a translation of the tweet, an “important” game is on its way to being banned because its developer has refused to modify content not considered appropriate in Saudi Arabia. Tawili doesn’t mention Final Fantasy 16, but many followers have suggested that he’s talking about the upcoming PS5 console exclusive.
Back in March, several Saudi Arabian players posted cryptic tweets decrying what they saw as questionable content in a major game. The tweets coincided with Square Enix dropping new information about Final Fantasy 16, leading many to speculate that this is the game the tweets all collated in this Reddit post were referring to.
In light of this, Final Fantasy 16 being banned in Saudi Arabia won’t come as a surprise. However, take this with a grain of salt until official confirmation.