Editing MENA Versions (section)

=== Regulations ===
We'll talk about Arabic-speaking countries (around 22 countries, most significantly Saudi Arabia '''(KSA)''', United Arabic Emirates '''(UAE)''', Egypt, Lebanon), and we'll add Iran. 

These are the markets with the most amount of modified game versions. The changes usually stem from Arab-Islamic cultural reasons, and aren't only enforced by the government but also enjoy wild public support. Publishers used to rely on the import market, or selling uncensored versions (with full localization) digitally on foreign stores, at one time openly defying governments and paying influencers to shill how to get the game from countries where it's not banned (responded to with instructions to blacklist any gaming news about major banned games by bigger game review websites), but the sales hit is big enough they decided to eventually start making changes for that market.

Games like the Zelda series (over the use of word "gods") or God of War used to be banned and unbanned unpredictably because of constantly shifting criteria. The Saudi government in collaboration with Sony implemented a ratings board around 2015 with clear criteria for what's acceptable and what isn't. This was a lot more lax compared to the situation before, but there's still other more opaque systems and some games will change content that would technically pass those regulations but would upset local audiences.

==== Objectionable Content ====
Some of the content is simply given age rating increases, although this doesn't keep some localizations from rewriting text associated with it.

* '''Profanity / Criminal Behavior:''' Increases age rating to +16 (KSA), blasphemous insults would be often replaced
* '''Alcohol / Substance Abuse / Gambling:''' Increases age rating to +18 (KSA) but not banned outright
* '''Mild Fanservice:''' Skimpy clothes and jiggle physics will often merely increase the age rating as long as it's not a full beach episode. Iran however is very strict with it and will require women's legs, torso and arms to be covered (some Arab publishers too).
* '''Gore:''' Semi-realistic is +12 (KSA), realistic with blood and brutality is +16 (KSA), mutilation and exposed limb cuts is +18 (KSA)

Some of the content, on the other hand, is an instant sales ban in Saudi Arabia. Other countries don't have explicit rating board provisions for it, sometimes even saying they may "allow everything as a +21 rating" (UAE) but de facto law enforcement and internet service providers will directly request physical and digital stores to take down the content because it's still '''illegal''' under general media laws.

* '''Political content directly tied to local governments:''' Usually if these countries are the settings for these games.
* '''Disrespects Islam / Christianism :''' Used to be, still is sometimes against irreverence to religion in general. Depictions of other religions is allowed within reason (not preaching it, not asking player interactivity in partaking in it). Depictions of holy books and places of worship being disrespected. Games causing sectarian strife between Arabic populations will be banned as well.
* '''Full nudity:''' Visible genitalia, boobs, buttocks, and anything suggesting their shape.
* '''Sex scenes:''' Intercourse shown onscreen. 
* '''Sexual degeneracy:''' This includes LGBT relationships, rejection of the gender binary including pronouns (although they don't ban for intersex and transgenders that just say they're male OR female), incest (doesn't include cousins but does include milk siblings)

Finally, some of the content will be deemed offensive enough they request its removal from all global versions of the game, or the developers do it preemptively. This is generally the case with '''disrespectful depictions of Islam'''.

==== Implementation of the changes ====
The changes are expected to extend over all of the content of the SKU. They're not to be toggled off either through options or alternative languages. This is why '''Middle East versions often come with a unique modified English localization.''' (And stripped off multiple language options as a result). The changes will range from text to entire sidequests and menu options removed. Some graphics will be blurred, swapped, covered up with geometry, or removed altogether.

In some cases, the game developer might decide to prepare an altered Middle East version without any Arabic localization options - it will be just the English version with the Middle East adjustments. Sometimes the English ME localization isn't given much thought (cut text / audio) and the bulk of the changes goes to the Arabic text. And sometimes, the developer prepares alternate versions of the game with no ME adjustments whatsoever and an uncensored Arabic translation with all of the objectionable content: these are usually only sold in European storefronts.

On the unofficial side, there's Iran's situation. No games are sold there so the government gives its blessing to pirate releases selling those games, either with Persian localization or not. However, the government (and the population to some degree) require the same kind of those ME changes, so you end up with a TON of Middle-East patches dating from the PlayStation 1 all the way up to the Switch and PS4. Said patches are often distributed for free by other modders either from Iran or the pan-Arabic sphere, and as of late since the 2010s they mostly cover topics terribly similar to the ones featured in this wiki, but are largely undocumented for now.