There is little more than a month left for the premiere of The Callisto Protocol, the long-awaited Striking Distance video game that takes over from the Dead Space franchise, also created by Glen Schofield. However, today we have learned that there is a country that will be unable to play it. Just as it has confirmed the title’s own official Japanese Twitter account, The Callisto Protocol cancels its release in Japan due to censorship. From Striking Distance they wanted to publicly explain the reasons for the decision made to their Japanese fans, who will be left unable to enjoy one of the most promising games of the year.
As explained by those responsible for The Callisto Protocol, the Japanese age rating agency, called ZERO, has not given a rating to the video game for its excess of violence and graphic content. This situation, which has occurred on more occasions in the past, has forced other studios to release a censored version in Japan. However, Striking Distance has refused to change the original creative vision and will therefore not be able to launch in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Striking Distance is not just talking about respect the creative visionbut all the atmosphere and visual and artistic decisions are designed to create the most terrifying and oppressive experience possible, so that eliminating elements such as blood or dismemberment would play against the video game itself and the final product that would reach the hands of Japanese users. The Callisto Protocol will be released next December 2 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and other platforms and, luckily, respecting their creative decisions in the rest of the countries.