Update (Sep 08): We have just received information that Starfield will be available in the UAE on the Xbox Store but with a 21+ rating. When posting this update, the game still shows Unavailable on the Xbox Store.
Starfield, the hotly anticipated decades-in-the-making sci-fi RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, is finally set to release next month. Gamers worldwide are stacking up their GamePass subscription, optimizing their PC setup, and deleting old games to make way for Todd Howard’s new IP when it takes off on September 6 (or September 1 for Early Access users) and possibly become one of the best Xbox games for 2023.
Will we see Starfield Banned in UAE?
UAE residents could be in for a rude shock as we could potentially see Starfield banned in UAE. While we do not have an official confirmation, a quick search for ‘Starfield’ on the Xbox app on PC or the Store on the Xbox Series X/S shows no results. The game does show up under the Game Pass section on the Xbox app on PC, but loading the game’s page shows that the “game is not available.”
A thread on Reddit is discussing the ban and worth keeping an eye on- though we wouldn’t take everything mentioned there as official.
Interestingly, the game is available for purchase on Steam.
While we are not certain of the reason for the ban, it could be due to the ability to have sex in the game and the use of brain-altering drugs. ESRB rates the game as ‘Mature’, citing blood, strong language, suggestive themes, use of drugs and violence as the reason for the 17+ rating.
Curiously, there hasn’t been any news of Starfield being banned in Saudi Arabia, with Bethesda even highlighting the country in their Global Release Time schedule:
Starfield releases on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S and will be available on Game Pass on day one.
