Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has not been approved for release in the Middle Eastern country of Kuwait, with Activision fully refunding all pre-orders. The publisher still remains hopeful of a possible launch down the line.

Black Ops 6 will not be released in Kuwait. Activision announced the news on October 16, just days after its October 25 release, with pre-orders all refunded in the region.

The exact reason for this decision is unclear, although the publisher remains hopeful that the game will eventually find its way onto store shelves in the Middle Eastern country. Historically, when other CoD titles have been impacted in various regions, modified versions have been created for specific countries, so the same could happen here.

“At this time, the title will not be available in the region,” an Activision spokesperson said in a statement provided to our sister site CharlieIntel. “As a result, all pre-orders in Kuwait will be canceled and refunded to the original point of purchase.

Given that Black Ops 6’s narrative is based around the World War of the early 1990s, specifically the Gulf War, it’s possible that the game’s depiction is what led to its ban in the region. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, led by Saddam Hussein, would be a logical focal point of the campaign.

Perhaps a revised version, removing any content related to this historic moment, could be approved for the country. “We hope that local authorities will reconsider their decision and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy (Black Ops 6),” the statement said.

We’ve seen many similar cases over the years where CoD games have had to change or outright cut certain content in order to reach particular audiences.

Black Ops 2, for example, was banned across Pakistan due to its depiction of the country. Meanwhile, Modern Warfare 2 was censored in Russia to remove the infamous “No Russia” chapter.

World at War also had to be tweaked for release in Germany, given its many Nazi references.