Controversial game removed from UK Steam after involvement from counter-terrorism unit

Valve has removed FPS/TPS game Fursan al-Aqsa from the UK Steam storefront following a request from the UK Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit. The reason behind this was due to the game being considered highly controversial as it delves into the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Palestinian perspective.

The developer behind Fursan al-Aqsa, Nidal Nijm Games, said that they received an email from Steam informing that the UK authorities have requested to block the game in the county. The game is already blocked across Germany and Australia, but the reason there was lack of age rating for the game.

“We were contacted by the Counter Terrorism Command of the United Kingdom, specifically the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). As with any authority for a region the [sic] oversees and governs what content can be made available, we have to comply with their requests,” the email read.

Also Read:Palestinian game dev is crowdfunding a game to tell story of 1948 Nakba

Latest update cause UK authorities to take action

Fursan al-Aqsa was released back in 2022 and over time, the developer has updated the game to include recent events. The most recent update to the game included the recent attack on Israel on October 7. This seems to be the main reason for the ban in the UK.

“The ban in UK is indeed because of my game's political statement on the Palestine x Israel conflict. The request to block my game in UK came from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). So this is clear that UK authorities consider my game as "terrorist" propaganda,” the developer wrote.

He also said UK authorities are showing double standards as the recently released Black Ops 6 also features a similar theme, but it is still available. “I do not blame Valve nor Steam, the blame is on the UK government and authorities that are pissed off by a video game,” he added.