A Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 collector’s edition was reportedly seized by Iraqi customs after officials suspected one of its contents could be a genuine historical artifact, leaving both the buyer and fans baffled.
Reddit user Ahmed15252 shared documents showing that the package’s art book had been flagged for potential cultural significance and forwarded to Iraq’s Ministry of Culture and Antiquities for review.
According to the letter, authorities requested “their opinion and a clear response” from the ministry, suggesting the item needed official confirmation before it could be released.
Expedition 33 artbook goes viral for customs misunderstanding
“This can’t be for real, my Expedition 33 journal that comes with the monolith set got detained by customs for being ‘possibly ancient’. Customs opened the package and decided the art book looked a bit too ancient. You know… drawings, symbols, vibes,” the player wrote.
“The book has been officially sent to the Iraqi Museum / Technical Committee to confirm that it is, in fact, a modern video game art book and not a newly discovered lost artifact. 10/10 experience will definitely accidentally import history again.”
The situation quickly sparked reactions from other players, many of whom pointed out the comical nature of the misunderstanding.
“Well, here’s hoping one person in the office is under 80 years of age and knows how to Google, and hopefully gets half the department playing the game,” wrote one player. Another added: “I suspect the customs department will be getting laughed at by some museum heads shortly, and hopefully told not to bother them with stupid things in the future.”
Fans also pointed out that despite its aged aesthetic, the book clearly uses modern binding techniques, has glossy paper, features visible copyright information, and has English text on the cover. So, even though the book looks old, it has all the hallmarks of a modern item.
Despite having the collector’s item confiscated during the investigation, Ahmed15252 has taken the ordeal in their stride.
“Honestly, at this point I’m just gonna laugh it off, I’ve been waiting for prolly 7 or 8 months for the set, and it’s finally here, and some kinda bullsh*t like this happens, like seriously?!!”
For now, it remains unclear how long the review process will take or when the fan will receive their copy, but hopefully, they won’t have to wait too long to get their ‘ancient’ artifact back.
Google comincia a sperimentare l'allenatore basato su IA Fitbit Coach fuori dagli USA