Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Blocked in Kuwait, Activision Refunds Preorders

Out next week, and almost certain to ruffle some feathers, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has not been approved for release in Kuwait. Publisher Activision is refunding all preorders and refrained from sharing the specific reasoning, although it doesn't take a professor of modern history to understand why.

An Activision spokesperson provided IGN with the following statement: "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has not been approved for release in Kuwait. At this time, the title will not be available for release in the region. As a result, all preorders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase. We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series."

It's Treyarch's turn at the helm, and Black Ops 6 will delve into the Gulf War of the early 90s, which took place during many prospective players' lifetimes. Iraq's president at the time, Saddam Hussein, invaded the neighbouring country of Kuwait with the fourth largest army in the world at the time, occupying it in just two days.

Spearheaded by the U.S., UK, and Saudia Arabia, a 42-country coalition opposed Hussein and went to war to free it. This resulted in a horrifically one-sided conflict, with 12,000 coalition casualties (under 400 actually died), compared to the disputed 175,000 - 300,000 suffered by the Iraqis, with scenes like the infamous Highway of Death being beamed to television screens live for the first time.