Final Fantasy 16 has been banned in Saudi Arabia by the country's Public Authority for Audiovisual. Final Fantasy 16 is easily one of the most hotly-anticipated new game releases of the year, so fans of the franchise in Saudi Arabia are likely not happy about the news.

Final Fantasy 16 is firmly rooted in series' traditions while simultaneously pulling it new directions. One key difference between Final Fantasy 16 and its predecessors is the fact that FF16 will be M-rated - the first time a main series Final Fantasy game has been given that rating by the ESRB. Final Fantasy 16's M rating means that it will have more adult content compared to other games in the franchise.

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Specifics as to why Final Fantasy 16 is being banned in Saudi Arabia are unavailable at the time of this writing beyond that Square Enix won't make some changes to the game that have been requested by Saudi Arabia's Public Authority for Audiovisual Media. It's entirely possible some of the content that made it an M-rated game is why Final Fantasy 16 is being banned in Saudi Arabia, but it's possible that the ban is coming about due to other reasons entirely. Unless some clarification is provided, all fans can do is speculate as to why Final Fantasy 16 is banned in Saudi Arabia.

Final Fantasy 16's M-rating has revealed some interesting details about the game and clued fans in on the kind of content they can expect when it launches next month. It's been confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 will have blood and gore, partial nudity, sexual themes, strong language, and violence. It seems possible that the sexual content in Final Fantasy 16 is what caused Saudi Arabia to ban it, but again, that's just speculation.

To go into too many more details about the game's M-rating would venture into Final Fantasy 16 story spoilers, but rest assured that the game will have some graphic acts of violence as well. Square Enix doesn't seem to be pulling its punches with Final Fantasy 16, and it will be interesting to see how longtime fans of the franchise react to this tonal shift come launch in June.

Final Fantasy 16 launches June 22, exclusively for PS5.

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