Summary
PlayStation 5 gamers in the Middle East say thatMarvel’s Spider-Man 2pre-orders haven’t opened in the region, prompting concerns that the game could be delayed, censored, or even banned. Pre-orders forSpider-Man 2opened in mid-June across most of the world. Yet in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, pre-orders are reported as not having been started. In some cases,Spider-Man 2’s October 20 release date isn’t listed, either.
Middle Eastern countries, including Saudia Arabia and others, have rules and regulations that have led to many different games being censored or banned within the region. For example, the recently releasedFinal Fantasy 16remains banned in Saudi Arabia. No official reason has been provided, but it is believed to be due to a gay couple kissing in the game. Square Enix is said to have refused to censorFinal Fantasy 16’s content so that it could be published in Saudi Arabia.
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A post from Twitter account MSM Access has prompted speculation about the state ofSpider-Man 2’s release in the Middle East. The account claims thatSpider-Man 2’s release is being delayed in the Middle East because content involvingLGBTQ+ representationis being censored to accommodate regional laws. The veracity of these claims has not been verified, however. It isn’t certain thatSpider-Man 2has been blocked in the region, nor is it certain that Sony and Insomniac are censoring the game.
What is certain is that pre-orders remain unavailable in Middle Eastern countries forSpider-Man 2. Fans on Reddit and other social media platforms have been frustrated about the situation for over a month now and continue to wait for an official explanation on the matter. While October 20 is still months away, the more time passes without an update, the more likely it is that the game will be delayed, at the very least.
It’s unclear at this point in time ifSpider-Man 2features any LGBTQ+ characters, but it doesn’t take much to catch the attention of certain Middle Eastern regulators.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versewas banned in UAE due to two brief moments where atrans pride flag was shown in Gwen Stacy’s home. It was not censored to be released. A simple pride flag inSpider-Man 2could easily lead to the game being banned in the region. Recall that the firstSpider-Mandid feature pride flags.
Insomniac Games has publicly voiced its support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the past, with posts on social media drawing attention to the diversity of its developers. However, it did not make a post regardingLGBT Pride Monththis year. It’s unclear what may have changed, but it could provide insight into whether Insomniac would be comfortable censoringSpider-Man 2in order to bring it to more markets.
