Valve blocked a mod for action RPG Mount and Blade: Warband in South Korea, which was subsequently removed by its author.
As reported by South Korean site This Is Game (translated by Automaton), the Gwangju Running Man mod converted the game’s medieval setting to a “modern depiction of Korea’s Gwangju Democratisation Movement” that took place in 1980.
In March 2025, South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) notified Valve that the mod was in violation of its laws. In response, Valve banned the mod in the region.
The mod was subsequently removed by its author last month.
The GRAC described the mod as “distort[ing] historical facts”. Automaton noted that the Gwangju Democratisation Movement involved protests that “are known to have been violently suppressed by the military, resulting in the massacre of civilians”.
However, the mod “depicted protestors as armed and violent criminals (according to South Korean outlet YNA), thus framing the military regime’s brutality as justified.”
The mod also had an image of military dictator Chun Doo Hwan on its cover.
In response to the ban, Valve said it “recognises the importance the historical event has for Korean people”.