Malaysia blocks Steam over a fighting game where Jesus can fight Buddha

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A tiny little eight-dollar fighting game is causing quite a stir.

 

Indie brawler Fight of Gods has caused the Malaysian Government’s Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) department to take a swipe at Steam, denying their citizens access to the Steam store through a blanket, country-wide ban of the Steam Store in reaction to the game.

Fight of Gods seems pretty silly, really – it stars various god-type characters from all sorts of mythologies. That goes for video game staples like Zeus, Odin, Amaterasu and Anubis, but also features the likes of Moses, Jesus and Buddha, and that’s where the sticking point with Malaysia’s government is.

Malaysian users on enormous gaming forum NeoGAF are also reporting Steam is blocked on their PCs but also even via mobile phone.

The game debuted a trailer featuring Jesus this week to mark it’s launch onto Steam early access. That caused quite a stir, with mainstream media outlets gleefully reporting Jesus’ addition to the game, with his deadpan fight introduction voiceover of “I’m back, for the people.” He then rips himself off his cross and uses the remaining wood to beat people with rekka-style moves like Street Fighter’s Fei Long. No, really.

Another, earlier report claims that the Malaysian Government contacted Valve and requested that they block Fight of Gods for Malaysian steam users before any further action is taken. It seems Valve wasn’t quick enough.

It’s worth noting that users can still boot games in their Steam Library, but the store itself remains broken, so people can’t spend any money without getting into some sort of DNS or something.

The error message users currently see warns “This website is not available in Mayalsia as it violate(s) the National law(s),” in both English and Malay. This sort of thing has happened before, of course. Years ago Injustice: Gods Among Us had to be renamed Injustice: The Mighty Among Us in the Middle East – this stuff happens more often than you’d think. Hopefully it’s resolved soon, and without full-on censorship – though that doesn’t seem particularly likely now.

Replies • 167
Planetary

That's the best free promo ever. An otherwise unknown game is now publicised in every gaming news. Streisand effect lol.


the game was good but it is not , some country has different cultural religion, maybe Malaysia block was right thing.


Planetary

Free publicity, I think the developers didn't lose a thing by this. If you check on steam, many reviews say "Never heard of this game before the Malaysian government blocked it".