The controversial Naughty Dog PS4 exclusive The Last of Us 2 is reportedly banned in the Middle East. According to a user in MENA who reached out to PlayStation Support to inquire about The Last of Us Part 2, the game is seemingly banned in the region.
The Last of Us 2 is not available for pre-order on PlayStation Store UAE and MENA. There are 19-20 countries in the MENA region including:
- Algeria
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Morocco
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Palestine
- Syria
- Tunisia
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen
Not all of these counties have a dedicated PlayStation Store but those that do, don’t have The Last of Us 2 up for pre-order, the only exception being Isreal PlayStation Store where the game is available.
While that may change in the coming weeks, at the time of this writing Naughty Dog’s summer blockbuster isn’t available in the majority of MENA. Interestingly, another “controversial” title Cyberpunk 2077 is available for pre-order in MENA. According to PlayStation Support, if The Last of Us 2 isn’t available for pre-order than the “competent authorities” have probably banned the title. PlayStation Support didn’t outright confirm a ban but all evidence points to the obvious.
Only Sony and the “competent authorities” can explain why The Last of Us 2 isn’t available in MENA. But if there is a ban, it isn’t hard to figure out why. All hope isn’t lost though, The Last of Us Part 2 might still release in the Middle East but if it does, expect a censored to oblivion version of it.