Dragon Age: Inquisition won't release in India due to obscenity laws
Dragon Age: Inquisition is finally out this week—either today if you're in the US, or later if you're not. There is one place where it won't be released, though: India. Why? That isn't entirely clear.
Early reports suggested it was pulled from sale because one of the Inquisitor's romanceable companion characters is gay. EA, however, say this isn't the case. In a statement to Kotaku, they said the following:
"In order to avoid a breach of local content laws, EA has withdrawn Dragon Age: Inquisition from sale in India and the game is no longer available for pre-order. Customers who pre-ordered the game will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded."
"The decision here is in relation to local obscenity laws, but not specific to same gender romance."
It's unclear which part of the country's obscenity laws they're afraid Inquisition might breach—especially in comparison to other, similar games that have received an uncontested release.
Having played through Inquisition, there was nothing that specifically stood out about its more mature content. Unless I've missed some serious sexy times somewhere down one of the game's many branching paths.
The move doesn't just affect retail. Origin orders in India are also unavailable, and existing purchases have been cancelled and refunded.
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Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.