There's A New Game Called 'Fight Of Gods' And MCMC Wants It Banned In Malaysia
Religious leaders have also condemned the game.
By Tang Ruxyn — 08 Sep 2017, 12:45 PM
A new video game has gained worldwide attention as players can "take control" of gods and religious figures from throughout human history, and go to battle.
Introducing, 'Fight of Gods'.
Developed by Taiwanese studio Digital Crafter and published by PQube, Fight of Gods instantly shot to fame among the international gaming communities around the world as it features the likes of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, among others, as fight characters.
The game was recently released into Early Access on gaming platform, Steam. There is a special promotion that ends on 12 September that allows customer to purchase the game for a discounted price of RM11.40.
"For the first time ever, gods, holy spirits and mythological characters from around the globe and throughout history will clash in an explosive 2D fighter where the entire world is at stake! Who will emerge victorious from the most destructive combat tournament the universe has ever witnessed?" read the game description on Steam.
The game has received positive reviews on Steam so far
There are at least 184 reviews left by players who purchased the game on Steam at the time of writing.
Most of these customers recommended the game and it has received "very positive" reviews so far.
While the game is growing in popularity, religious leaders in Malaysia have condemned the game and called for a ban
Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has urged the government to immediately ban the game or block the download link "to avoid the potential of religious tension in the country.
"Any religion and religious leaders who are rational would downright condemn the game, as I'm sure no religion encourages violence and fighting against each other," he added.
Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) deputy president Datuk R.S. Mohan Shan echoed Mohd Asri.
"This is a very sensitive issue, and it is totally not acceptable. We can never agree to such games. The government must take immediate action to ban the game's sale here," Mohan Shan was quoted as saying by The Sun.
Council of Churches Malaysia general-secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, deemed the use of religious figures in the game as insensitive and disrespectful, urging the government to appeal to the developer to replace them with more acceptable characters.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has given 24 hours for Steam to disable the game downloads for Malaysian users
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, said that further action will be taken if the game provider does not comply with MCMC's demands, Bernama reported yesterday, 7 September.
According to Salleh, the decision was made in the public interest so that "such contents do not continue to harm others".
He added that it was a crime to create and spread offensive content under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 while he stressed that MCMC will continue to work with relevant parties to curb the download.
"Malaysians respect all cultural and religious sensitivities, and the sale and distribution of the religiously insensitive and blasphemous games must be stopped immediately," he was quoted as saying.