The argument that video games making people violent is almost as old as video games themselves. I feel like every year or so we get another report analyzing the topic (often refuting the idea that they have a negative influence) or a politician calling for a ban. Last year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed that video games were “teach children to kill.‘

Whether you agree or not, it doesn’t change the fact that a number of countries outright ban the sale of certain games due to their violent content, such as Mortal Combat series.

Most recently, the country of Tajikistan (located in Central Asia) announced a ban on the Grand Theft Auto series and Valve’s Counter-Strike games, alleging that it is because they encourage criminal activity.

The Dushanbe Department of Internal Affairs (Dushanbe is the capital) announced the news over the weekend. via telegramadding that Dushanbe police would start carrying out raids on all retailers suspected of selling the aforementioned games.

A statement from the ministry (as translated by The file) claims that GTA and Counter-Strike “promote murder, theft and violence” and that “young people and adolescents who regularly play these games are subject to their negative influence and commit various crimes.” It is not yet known whether other video games will be affected in the same way.

It’s easy to see why some think GTA glorifies violence, given that players typically control criminals and thieves, and there have been cases where games have been blamed for causing real-world crimes . For example, the series has been banned in Thailand since 2008, believing that it influenced the murder of a taxi driver by an 18-year-old student (via BBC).

As for Counter-Strike and its 2023 sequel, both are first-person shooter games in which one team plays terrorists with the goal of planting bombs and/or killing the opposing team. However, the original game was only banned once for its use of violence, and that was in Brazil in 2008. This ban was lifted the following year (by G1).

Ironically, it may be due to the ever-increasing popularity of games that the biggest titles are facing much more scrutiny of late, particularly when it comes to how children interact with them . For years there has been concern that children are developing gambling addictions thanks to loot boxesBelgium bans all games that contain it.

This year, a damning report on Roblox accused the platform of being extremely dangerous for minors, and this was after Turkey has already banned Roblox due to concerns about child exploitation.

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