It has recently been reported that Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds was banned in the country of Jordan.  There is an article up on the website TheSplintering about this very issue, so I will try my best not to just rehash what they said.  The Jordanian government is also looking to ban several other games as well, as mentioned in a tweet from Censored Gaming. 

Both the article and tweet I linked cite the Jordanian Telecommunications Regulatory Commission’s (TRC) reasoning as “negative impacts for players of all generations”.  The article goes on to mention TRC’s Director of Beneficiaries Affairs claiming a study was done due to citizen complaints.  The complaints, according to TRC were due to the ‘terrifying spread of menacing video games’. 

It seems the Jordanian government has come down with a new case of stupid.  I mean, why would a country surrounded by almost perpetual war be concerned with fictional violence?  It almost seems like people from the West are applying their logic and values onto statements by the TRC.  You see, the TRC statements quoted do not say one thing about violence.  Why?  Because Jordan did not get a new case of stupid, they are still suffering from the same kind of stupid they have had for a while, religion. 

An article from the Arab News sheds some light on this issue.  While Arab News does front load their article the typical video games cause violence rhetoric, there is something rather telling buried in the article.  When talking about free-to-play games they had this to say…

“Games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends and PUBG are all advertised as free-to-play.  However, they provide players with the opportunity to pay real money for in-game cosmetic items, leading many in Saudi Arabia to urge the banning of the games as they are seen to encourage gambling.” 

Gambling is considered haram, forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law, so it is no wonder a country with a 95% Muslim, 93% Sunni Muslim, population would want to ban a game featuring gambling.  You see, while Western countries still argue over whether or not loot boxes are considered gambling or “surprise mechanics” the Islam nations of the world have actually acknowledged it as such. 

While I do not agree with a game being banned on religious grounds, I can at least find some solace in the fact Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries are not trying to force game developers to change games to fit their standards.  Yes, Muslim fundamentalist have a bit more self control than SJW cunt bags.  So, as long as we keep our countries free of crazy religious zealots we will be okay. 

(Main image courtesy of Eggy)