Ghost of Yotei may take a while to get to consumers, but Ubisoft has players covered with their upcoming Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows explores Japanese history, but it’s been revealed that the game will be censored for Japanese audiences.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Censored in Japan
As announced by the Japanese Ubisoft account, it’s been revealed that the game's graphic violence will be altered for the Japanese audience because of the CERO rating.
For context, CERO (Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization) is an organization that gives specific ratings for video game content. Shadows was given a Z rating, meaning it cannot be sold to anyone under 18. Despite this, CERO determined that the game's gore was too extreme, so Ubisoft was forced to censor it.
The translated statement reads:
“Regarding Assassin’s Creed: Shadows (CERO: Z), there are some differences in the in-game content of the version sold in Japan to comply with the regulations of the reviewing organization.
“The option to switch dismemberment on and off has been removed from the game settings, and now dismembering the heads and limbs of enemies while playing is permanently disabled. The way severed body parts are depicted has also been changed.”
It has also been confirmed that the language in the Japanese version of the game will differ from that in the North American and EU versions, but no details have been revealed about how much.
“What Do You Mean, CERO?”
This isn’t the first time CERO has hugely impacted a game released in Japan. They can occasionally cause controversy.
Back in April 2024, CERO was criticized by EA Japan executive Shaun Noguchi for their inconsistency when it comes to rating. In a recently deleted tweet (via VGC), Noguchi talks about CERO refusing to give Dead Space a rating because of the graphic violence. However, they still gave Stellar Blade a CERO D rating even though it featured the same kind of violence that Dead Space was criticized for. His translated post reads:
“This is purely a complaint about the ambiguity of the review process in Japan, and I can give many examples of the ambiguity prevalent in the review process for other titles as well.”
Thinking Ahead
If anything, it was convenient for Assassin’s Creed to have that option to tone down the violence for the Japanese censors. The developers probably expected a huge boost in the Japanese market, with the whole game focused on going to feudal Japan. It would have probably been a big loss if they weren’t allowed to sell copies there.
It's probably a consolation that the game still received a rating compared to Dead Space, in which CERO refused to give a fair shake to violence.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to release for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 on March 20.