Approval for great theft: a turning point for the Mena game regulations

An overview of approvals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

In the past, the permits for video games in the region were restricted by conservative regulations, which were a high number of prohibitions for games with strong violence, sexual content, substance consumption or topics that were contradictory with local religious or cultural norms. The first signs of a change came in 2016 when Saudi Arabia introduced localized age reviews that replaced their dependence on the PEGI system.

This allowed titles like God of war And Red Dead Erlatment 2Which would normally have been banned according to the previous system in order to obtain delayed permits after changes to content and localization were made. Title like Final Fantasy XVI remained banned under this system after he had not met the local requirements.

The introduction of an old -age rating of 21+ in the country, which is higher than the evaluation of Pegi, is a remarkable step and allows it Grand Theft Auto V. Start without a major change in content. This is a positive signal for the industry because it potentially enables games to be approved without changes, whereby shift offers a practicable way to the market for games that are normally blocked.

What does this mean for game developers and publishers

This development sends a strong signal to global publisher, which in the past may have been careful before the regulatory environment. By introducing the 21+ rating, the supervisory authorities will determine a clearer framework for content for adults, which could encourage more publishers to include the region in global release plans from day one. Niko Partners has seen an increasing demand for localized games in the Mena-3 region (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt), which we have followed for almost half a decade.

According to our report from 2025 Menaa-3 Gamer Behaviour & Market Insights, which comprises a survey of 1,580 players, over 90% of PC and console players in the region are over 21 years old and agreed with the classification of the new age valuation. The MENA-3 market will grow from $ 2.0 billion in 2024 to $ 2.8 billion in a 5-year CAGR of 6.8%in 2029. The total number of players in the region will also reach 84.3 million in 2029.

The announcement also comes back to a broader strategic partnership between the Saudi -Euden advanced initiative company and the Take -Two Interactive GTA VPresent WWE 2KPresent NBA 2KAnd Red Dead Redemption. Numerous local publishers, dealers and marketing companies have signed offers or want to sign shops with IP owners to bring games to the region when demand increases and the regulatory environment becomes more open.

Religious and cultural values still play an important role

While the regulatory shift is a positive step for the industry, we find that players in the region are a high opinion and that cultural sensitivity still plays a major role. Our 2025 Gamer survey shows that 57% of the players in Menaa-3 would consider whether they should set a game if they contained content that they had settled as religious or culturally.

Compliance with religious values as the second most important factor for players in the region when choosing a new game and underlines the importance of respectful localization practices. Games are often criticized and even boycotted when they contain the offensive content or are regarded as disrespectful to certain religious or cultural aspects.

Summary

The formal publication of GTA V And GTA online In Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a crucial moment marks for the regional play market. It reflects a strategic change towards regulatory liberalization and economic opportunities and at the same time balances cultural considerations. Many in the region see this as the way for an official publication of day Grand Theft Auto VIas well as the distribution of other games with adult content that may have been blocked beforehand. There is no doubt that Mena quickly becomes an attractive region for global publishers who want to expand their reach.

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