Kalypso Media has confirmed today that Tropico 5 has been refused distribution in Thailand.

The Board of Film and Video Censors (part of the Ministry of Culture) stated that “some contents of the game are not appropriate for the current situation,” but did not point out the exact content which caused concern. Kalypso Media’s Thailand distributor, New Era, has decided not to appeal the decision.

“We are disappointed to hear that Tropico 5 will not be released in Thailand,” commented Simon Hellwig, Global Managing Director Kalypso Media Group. “Tropico 3 and Tropico 4 both enjoyed successful releases in the country and although the Tropico brand does have a realistic political element to it, the scenarios and content are all delivered with a certain trademark tongue in cheek humor.”

Stefan Marcinek, Global Managing Director, Kalypso Media Group added “Our distributor has been working hard to gain approval for the release, but it seems that the Board of Film and Video Censors deem some of the content too controversial for their consumers. This does sound like it could have come from one of El Presidente’s own edicts from the game.”

In May, Thailand experienced a real-life coups d’état which saw the elected government ousted by a military takeover. A DLC pack titled ‘Junta’ for Tropico 4 was released in 2011 which challenged players to turn the island into a militaristic society. Looks like the Board of Film and Video Censors want to maybe avoid another instance like this.