The Last of Us Part 2 was suddenly banned in the Middle East – Is it because of gay content?

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Gamers in the Middle East if you want to buy The Last of Us: Part 2 at the time of release will need to take a little detour. The Last of Us: Part 2 will not be officially released in some Middle Eastern countries.

The Last of Us: Part 2 was advertised on the official Twitter account of PlayStation the Middle East region and appear on the list of upcoming titles in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, players still cannot purchase The Last of Us 2 from the PlayStation store in the above regions. The links to the PlayStation store are all outdated.

Reddit user Ghostechful contacted PlayStation Support to find out why he couldn’t pre-order The Last of Us 2 via the UAE PS Store and received an email confirming the ban.
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When searching for the game on the PS Store, the results show only The Last of Us part 1 and its PS4 remaster. This means that the new title is not yet licensed for trading in the region.

The ESRB’s review of The Last of Us 2 confirmed the game has 18+ content, which could be part of the reason behind the ban. The game also has the appearance of the characters LGBTLGBT themes and these elements are easy to ban.

Of course, gamers in the Middle East will have no problem buying games from other PlayStation Stores. Players can easily purchase prepaid PS Store cards in the US, UK and many other countries. The Last of Us: Part 2 will premiere on June 19.
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