The Last Of Us Part 2 Has Been ‘Banned In The Middle East’

The Last of Us Part 2 is about to release, but it looks like not everyone will get to enjoy the Naughty Dog sequel in 23 days, 11 hours and 35 minutes (at the time of writing), as the game has reportedly been banned in the Middle East.

Credit: Naughty Dog

As reported by VG247, The Last of Us Part 2 isn’t getting an official release in a number of Middle Eastern countries, and isn’t available on the PlayStation Store where the first game still appears.

According to the publication, The Last of Us Part 2 is still being promoted by official PlayStation Twitter accounts in the Middle East, and it does show up on official Sony pages for United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, there’s no actual way to purchase the game from the PS Stores.

Credit: Naughty Dog

A Redditor by the name of Ghostechful spoke with PlayStation Support, and received an email which all but confirms the title has been banned in the user’s region.

Asked them why last of us 2 wasn’t available for pre-order from r/DubaiGaming

Although there’s no word on why the supposed ban is in place, it’s likely down to the romantic relationship between protagonist Ellie Williams and new character, Dina. Many Middle Eastern countries don’t look favourably on same-sex relationships, with lots of regions banning media that shows such content.

There has yet to be an official announcement from either Sony or Naughty Dog on the matter.

Speaking of Sony, the next State of Play event is scheduled for later this week, and it’s confirmed to be focusing on The Last of Us Part 2. The State of Play will take place Wednesday, March 27 (that’s tomorrow!), at 1:00pm PT/4:00pm ET. Mark your calendars for this one!

The Last of Us Part 2 is set to launch exclusively on PlayStation 4, June 19 2020.

Featured Image Credit: Naughty Dog