The Evil Within’s Japanese Release is Censored for Gore

The Japanese release of Tango Gameworks’ The Evil Within (titled Psycho Break in Japan) will be censored for gore, Zenimax Asia general manager Tetsu Takahashi has revealed. Speaking in an interview with Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Takahashi said that players will have to install additional DLC to experience the original uncensored version of the game. 

The DLC, titled The Gore Mode, will be available for free to anyone who pre-orders the game, which launches on October 26 in Japan. The version will ship without DLC, and has been cut to fit Japan’s Cero D rating, which is for ages 17 and up. The Gore Mode brings the game up to a Cero Z rating, which is for ages 18 and up. It’s incredible what difference a year makes.

According to Polygon, which translated the Famitsu interview, the decision to cut the game to meet lower Japanese ratings was because of sales. Advertising for a game with higher age requirements would have limited the publisher’s reach in the market, which in turn would have reduced sales. So instead, Tango decided to release the Gore Mode as a DLC to incentivize players to pre-order the game. 

Takahashi states that both versions of the game will play the same despite the absence of gore in the Cero D version. He added that the uncensored version of the game will more closely resemble the game’s international release. 

The Evil Within will be out on October 21 in North America for the PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. You can read our E3 2014 preview of the game here.