Valve has removed ‘Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’ from its UK Steam store following a request from the UK’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). The game, developed by Brazilian-Palestinian creator Nidal Nijm, portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian perspective.
In October 2024, Valve informed Nijm about the removal, stating: ‘We’ve received a request from authorities in the UK to block the game and have applied such country restrictions.’ When Nijm inquired about the specific reason, Valve responded: ‘We were contacted by the Counter Terrorism Command of the United Kingdom, specifically the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). As with any authority for a region that oversees and governs what content can be made available, we have to comply with their requests.’
The CTIRU, part of the UK’s Metropolitan Police, focuses on removing extremist content online. While they didn’t comment on this specific case, a spokesperson mentioned: ‘The CTIRU works closely with a range of technology, social media, and online service providers, but we do not comment on specific content or any communication we may have with specific platforms or providers.’
Nijm expressed his frustration, suggesting the ban was politically motivated. He compared his game to mainstream titles, stating: ‘On their flawed logic, the most recent Call of Duty should be banned as well. As you play as an American soldier and go to Iraq to kill Iraqi people. What I can say is that we see clearly the double standards.’
UK counter-terrorism unit demands Steam withdraw controversial shooter from salehttps://t.co/djr0tagEFk pic.twitter.com/U41OUep4Og
— Eurogamer (@eurogamer) December 1, 2024
‘Fursan al-Aqsa’ was initially released in April 2022. It describes itself as ‘the Palestinian Max Payne on steroids’ and ‘the most BASED game of all times.’ The game has faced bans in Germany and Australia due to not obtaining the necessary age ratings.
Despite its removal in the UK, the game remains available in other regions, including the US. UK users attempting to access the game’s Steam page receive a message stating, ‘This item is currently unavailable in your region.‘
This incident highlights the ongoing debate about the portrayal of sensitive political conflicts in video games and the responsibilities of platforms in regulating such content.
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