Treyarch
The historical reason Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is banned in the country
Kuwait has decided to ban the sale of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 throughout its territory for one main reason: the presence of Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq, in the video game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is one of the most anticipated titles of the final stretch of 2024, and as such many have not hesitated to pre-order it or get the Xbox Game Pass to be able to play it from day one. However, one country in particular has banned its sale completely: Kuwait. The reason? The presence of Saddam Hussein in the game has caused much controversy in the small, oil-rich nation, as Iraq invaded it in the early 1990s.
Kuwait bans sale of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 because it depicts Saddam Hussein
The Emirate of Kuwait has banned the sale on its territory of one of the most anticipated video games of 2024, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. According to The Star, the decision is because the game is partly set during Operation Desert Storm, the military operation led by the United States and an international coalition to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation, whose troops were led by Saddam Hussein. Activision has confirmed that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait”.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, a small oil-producing state in the Persian Gulf. This conflict was preceded by a long and costly war between Iran and Iraq, which took place between 1980 and 1988 and left both countries economically devastated. During that war, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, including Kuwait, provided economic and military support to Iraq to contain Iranian influence in the region. At the end of the conflict, however, Iraq hoped that some or all of its debts to these countries would be canceled, but this did not happen, leading to the beginning of political and economic tensions between Iraq and its former allies.
In response, Iraq accused Kuwait of overproducing oil to deliberately lower oil prices. This made many Iraqi oil fields unprofitable, further exacerbating Iraq’s financial crisis. As a result of these rising tensions, Saddam Hussein decided to invade Kuwait in 1990 to annex the territory and seize its oil fields. The invasion provoked a swift response from an international coalition led by the United States, which, under a UN mandate, succeeded in expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991.
Given the severity of the invasion and occupation by Iraqi troops, the figure of Saddam Hussein remains extremely controversial in Kuwait today, and it is expressly forbidden to depict him, even in fictional works such as video games. Nevertheless, his presence, albeit anecdotal in the context of the video game, has led the Kuwaiti authorities to ban the sale of Black Ops 6. Activision assures that reservations have been canceled and full refunds will be given to buyers residing in that country.
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