Owning this banned 2000s video game could land you in legal trouble in these major countries
There's a growing list of video game nasties, and even owning them in 2026 can land you in trouble. Rockstar Games' two Manhunt titles are often considered the most violent video games of all time, while others like 2018's Active Shooter, 2009's Baby Shaker, and 2004's The Guy Game have all been banned for various reasons in the United States.
Other countries have banned games for other reasons, like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl being banned in Russia due to it having a Ukrainian developer, Animal Crossing: New Horizons being outlawed in China because Hong Kong activists staged a digital protest, and Roblox being banned in Iraq over child safety concerns.
One gaming release stands out from the crowd, as having a copy in 2026 can still get you in plenty of trouble. Check your shelves because having Postal 2 in your collection could be a costly mistake.
Why was Postal 2 banned?
Released in 2003, Postal 2 was Running with Scissors' second entry in the controversial franchise. The bizarre shooter series is still alive and well, with the maligned Postal 4: No Regerts coming out 2022 and a planned Postal 2 remake (titled Postal 2 Redux) supposedly on the way.
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The first two Postal games were known for their graphic violence, with Postal 2 once again putting you in the shoes of 'The Postal Dude' as he completes a mundane routine of everyday tasks. That might not sound too out-there, but the mayhem comes from the fact that you decide how peacefully or manically you complete everything from buying milk to returning a library book.
Postal 2 found itself banned in several countries due to its unconstrained violence and crude humor, using anti-gay slurs, allowing players to urinate on corpses in terrorist training camps, and using cats as gun silencers.
New Zealand came down especially hard on Postal 2, and in 2004, the Office of Film and Literature Classification banned it over its high levels of violence. Australia similarly brought down the ban hammer in 2005, but quietly lifted it in 2013.
Sweden's Chancellor of Justice even took a local distributor to court and tried to prosecute them for "illegal depiction of violence" under the country's freedom-of-speech act. That case was eventually dismissed, but more recently, the German version of Postal 2 was pulled from the Steam store over allegations of extreme violence alongside "gross perversion of humanity."
Whereas some countries have lifted their bans, you still need to be careful about owning or trying to obtain a copy of Postal 2.
What countries is Postal 2 still banned in?
- Australia
- Germany
- Sweden
- Malaysia
- France
- New Zealand
- Uzbekistan
New Zealand is arguably the most against Postal 2, as it's officially classified as an "objectionable publication" under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act. This means owning, downloading, or possessing a copy carries a fine of up to NZ$2,000 and a maximum of one year in prison.
Larger distributors and retail businesses selling Postal 2 could be hit by even bigger corporate fines of up to NZ$50,000.
Even though New Zealand's objectionable material laws were updated to include harsher maximum prison sentences of up to 14 years, the general consensus is that this is for more severe crimes like child exploitation and having terrorist materials instead of owning a video game from 2003.
Germany has geo-locked Postal 2 so that storefronts like Steam can't sell it within the country's borders, although there are apparent workarounds where you can be gifted a Steam copy from somewhere else in the world or buy a Steam key directly from Running with Scissors.
Importantly, Germany doesn't treat simply owning Postal 2 as a criminal offense.
Finally, countries including Malaysia and Uzbekistan have stricter morality laws. Postal 2 is unsurprisingly banned, with owners facing severe fines or prosecution under local censorship, internet regulation, or public decency laws.
We're reminded that enforcement likely depends on whether you have a physical disc or it's played through a private digital account.
Despite Postal 2 leaving something of a dark mark on the landscape of video game history, the fact that it's getting a remake shows that not everyone is as critical of the retro outing.