Breaking: Steam Store gets the ban hammer in Malaysia

Spare a thought for our friends across the causeway. According to Lowyat.net, a Malaysia-based tech site, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (or MCMC, the Malaysia equivalent of our own Media Development Authority) has moved to deny local access to the entire Steam store.

Source: Kotaku.com

The move, which is no less a ban, was believed to have been a reaction to a fighting game that involves religious deities called Fight of Gods. As the name implies, Fight of Gods pits gods, deities, and even prophets such as Odin, Lord Guan Gong, and Moses against each other in an arcade-style fighting gameplay similar to Street Fighter. The controversy may also have been exacerbated by the inclusion of Jesus and Buddha in the game’s roster. Fans’ requests for the addition of the prophet Muhammad did not help the game’s cause too.

Steam users in Malaysia will see this notice on their screen.

Lowyat.net added that the DNS block deployed by MCMC affects the store on both the Steam website and app, denying Malaysian from buying games on the platform – although one can still play games that are already purchased and stored in their Steam’s library.

Source: Lowyat.net
Image Source: Lowyat.net