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PQube’s religious-themed 2D brawler Fight of the Gods has been causing chaos over in Malaysia. The game, which launched on Steam Early Access last week, sees religious and mythological figures such as Jesus, Moses, Odin, Athena and Anubis battling each other for supremacy as they fight an unknown evil.
Firstly,the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission called for a ban on the game and for it to be disabled on Steam within 24 hours. TheMalaysian Government then blocked all access to Steam on Friday in order to prevent customers from buying the game.
According to Gamesbeat, however, it seems that access to Steam has now been restored in the region, but the game itself remains unavailable to buy.
"We have contacted the developer, removed the game, and are attempting to make contact with the officials in Malaysia to remove the block," said Valve’s Doug Lombardi. "We apologize for any inconvenience.”
However, while the full ban allegedly only lasted for three hours according to PCGamesN, it’s been reported that some Malaysian internet providers are still blocking access to Steam.
"Fight of Gods is a video game that takes a humorous approach to religion in the same way that other entertainment formats have – across television, film, books and theatre," a spokesperson from Digital Crafter and PQube told MCV.
"The game is not promoting any religious agenda and is not designed to offend. The description of the game on the digital platforms through which it is distributed provide clear guidance on the nature of the game and its content so that people can freely choose whether or not to play it. We fully respect the choice of those who would not wish to play it.
"We are disappointed that such freedom of choice is not given to everyone and in particular that the game has been forcibly removed from sale in Malaysia, although no direct communication has been received by us as to the reasons for this. Nevertheless we respect any rules and censorship imposed in any given territory. We have reached out to Steam and are working with them to resolve the situation as soon as possible."
