Unlucky Redditor has Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 artbook siezed for a uniquely comical reason

Reddit user Ahmed15252 had an interesting experience travelling with his copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s collector’s edition that apparently took eight months to arrive. It comes with an art book with concept art from the game, among other things. Iraqi customs took a gander at it and determined it to be an artefact of historic valuem going as far as confiscating it and forwarding it to the Ministry of Culture and Antiquities to determine its historic value.

At the time of writing, the OP has yet to post an update, so it may be a while before we determine how the situation panned out. Ideally, someone up the chain will look at the book with its modern-day elements, such as copyright info and glossy pages, and return it to the owner. On the plus side, the actual game disk was unaffected, meaning he can still enjoy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. 

While the Iraqi government’s response may seem a bit heavy-handed, it comes from a place of caution. Ancient artefacts were often used as a money laundering front. The US State Department and European Union posted detailed breakdowns on how malicious actors use artefacts to fund illicit activities in the region.