World of Warcraft blocked in Iran

Blizzard Entertainment released a statement confirming that it will comply with government legislation and pull its products from affected territories.

"United States trade restrictions and economic sanction laws prohibit Blizzard from doing business with residents of certain nations, including Iran," read the statement.

"Several of you have seen and cited the text in the Terms of Use which relates to these government-imposed sanctions.

"This week, Blizzard tightened up its procedures to ensure compliance with these laws, and players connecting from the affected nations are restricted from access to Blizzard games and services.

"This also prevents us from providing any refunds, credits, transfers, or other service options to accounts in these countries."

World of Warcraft was not available legitimately in the region to begin with, but scores of Iranians access the game through virtual private networks.

Guild Wars, RuneScape, Second Life, Dofus, Evony and Entropia Universe are among the other games unavailable in Iran due to the US sanctions.