Russia's gay propaganda law is now subjecting games like Assassin's Creed and The Last of Us to further restrictions and scrutiny to prevent the promotion of "non-traditional sexual relationships" and "distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships" to its citizens.
Initially, this law only mentioned minors in its categories of "offensive" materials but new modifications to the bill allow it to affect all minors and adults in the country. Last week, it was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin following a unanimous response from the Federation Council for these amendments.
As per PC Gamer's report, the centrist A Just Russia - For Truth party explicated which games would not be tolerated for their inclusion of LGBT content. These are the aforementioned Assassin's Creed and The Last of Us series, as well as Apex Legends, Borderlands, Divinity: Original Sin 2, the Dragon Age series, the Fallout series, Overwatch 2 and Rimworld. Those who flout these rules will face fines of 400,000 roubles ($6,600) for individuals, up to 5 million roubles ($82,100) for legal entities and foreigners may be arrested for 15 days and expelled from Russia.
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This sounds outlandish to us, and especially in the context that the country is fighting an active war in Ukraine, surely the government has more pressing priorities. The reasoning is that Russia intends to protect its citizens against influence from the liberal West, describing LGBT individuals and media as a form of "hybrid warfare," and ensuring that the bill is as all-encompassing as possible would let enforcers stamp out these instances wherever they see them.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: no article matching, World News, Assassins Creed, The Last Of Us