After 12 Years of Ban, GTA V Will Finally Be Available to Players in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
⬤ Saudi Arabia and the UAE have officially announced that GTA V will be available starting July 17, following the lifting of its long-standing ban.
⬤ Originally released in 2013, the game was banned due to its violent content. It will now be allowed under an adults-only age rating.
⬤ The GTA series is one of the most popular yet most controversial game franchises, having been banned in many countries since the 1990s.
More than a decade after its original release in 2013 and as fans await the next GTA installment expected next year — Saudi gamers were surprised by an official decision allowing Grand Theft Auto V to be released for the first time in the Kingdom. The game has now received an official age rating placing it in the most restricted category: for adults aged 21 and above. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates also confirmed the game’s release, following its own classification by the UAE Media Council.
In an official post published by Saudi Arabia’s Game Age Rating Authority on Thursday, it was confirmed that GTA V will be available through official local channels starting July 17, marking the end of what had effectively been a long-standing informal ban on one of the most debated titles in gaming history.
استمتع بتجربة اللعبة الشهيرة Grand Theft Auto V & Grand Theft Auto Online، حصلت على تصنيف 21 فما فوق.
تتوفر بشكل رسمي في الأسواق السعودية 17 يوليو 2025.
تأكد من مناسبة اللعبة لفئتك العمرية.#تصنيف_الألعاب
الهيئة العامة لـ #تنظيم_الإعلام pic.twitter.com/M02Dy5XxZf— التصنيف العمري للألعاب الإلكترونية (@Gmedia_Games) July 3, 2025
In a post on platform X, Hattan Tawili, a member of the Saudi Game Rating Authority, said that what once seemed impossible had finally happened, as the game now carries an official classification in the Kingdom. He described the move as “perhaps late, but highly significant,” noting that it would have a major impact on the gaming market in Saudi Arabia.
Interestingly, confirmation of the UAE release also came through the official PlayStation Arabia accounts, which listed July 17, 2025, as the release date for GTA V in the Emirates, the same date as in Saudi Arabia.
Even more notably, the game will reportedly not undergo any local edits or internal censorship in either country. Players will have access to the full, global version of the game, with the only restriction being the adults-only age rating for those 21 and above, the highest possible rating for a game in the region.
Saudi Arabia is not the only country to have previously banned entries in the GTA franchise. The series has faced intense criticism and global controversy since its beginnings in the 1990s. Over the years, multiple versions have been banned or heavily modified around the world due to depictions of violence and crime. Even today, GTA V remains banned in several countries, while others restrict access to certain content such as the casino feature in GTA Online.
