The Malaysian government banned access to Steam for 24 hours on Sept. 8 due to "Fight of Gods," an online brawler with a controversial religious theme that was featured on Valve's digital platform.
According to The Star, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) initiated the blocking of the site. A representative said that it was necessary to "protect the users and prevent untoward incidents."
Also, the representative reiterated that Malaysians respect all cultural and religious sensitivities and the sale and distribution of what are deemed religiously insensitive or blasphemous games must be stopped immediately.
MCMC apparently used Domain Name System (DNS), a blocking mechanism for denying access to chosen websites.
A Valve spokesman said that they have contacted the developer to remove the game, and they are attempting to make contact with the Malaysian officials to remove the block.
"We apologize for any inconvenience," the representative continued.
PQube Limited, the game publisher of "Fight of Gods," with the consent of developer Digital Crafter, said in a statement to Glixel that the game takes a humorous approach to religion in the same way other formats across television, film, books and theatre has.
The publisher added that the game is not "promoting any religious agenda and is not designed to offend."
"Fight of Gods" features Zeus, Buddha, Jesus and more fighting against each other like "Marvel vs. Capcom" or other fighting games. Each character has light, medium, and heavy attacks. Also, every character has a special divine power akin to "Mortal Kombat."
The game was released on Steam Early Access on Sept. 4 and received generally positive reviews from players.
Malaysia is known for having tough censorship laws. Its government has substantial control over the media and has the power to restrict for the purpose of national security.
As of this time, access to Steam has returned in Malaysia but "Fight of Gods" is no longer available on the platform.
