Ubisoft has announced the Japanese release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Ubisoft announced.
A statement made on the publisher’s X Japanese
If a game has a Zero Z rating, that means it contains strong adult material and it is illegal to sell the game to anyone under 18 years of age.
Despite this, Cero has still determined that the gore in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is too extreme for a Z rating, causing Ubisoft to censor it.
“With regard to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows (Zero: Z), there are some differences in the game content of the version sold in Japan to comply with the regulations of the reviewing organization,” Ubisoft said in its statement.
“The option to turn dismemberment on and off has been removed from the game settings, and dismembering enemies’ heads and limbs while playing is now permanently disabled. The way severed body parts are represented has also been changed.”
『アサシン クリード シャドウズ』海外版（北米・欧州）と日本版 表現差異について#SassAnsinscreedShadows pic.twitter.com/v3xrcppwmf
– Ubisoft Japan (@ubisoft_japan) January 24, 2025
Ubisoft also says that some of the Japa language dialogue that will be used in the North American and European versions of the game will be changed for the Japanese version, but they won’t go into further detail on this.
Zero’s decision to censor dismemberment in video games has been the source of controversy in the past. Last year, EA Japan general manager Shaun Noguchi criticized Zero for what he believed were discrepancies in how the Dead Space remake and Star Blade were rated.
Stellar Blade was passed with a Zero D rating (meaning it is not suitable for players 17 or younger, but can still be purchased by them with parental consent), while the Dead Space remake was rejected. directly a rating.
Posting a selection of screenshots from the Starblade demo showing severed limbs with bones visible, and gills splattered on the floor, Noguchi claimed that Cero’s decision not to rate Deadspace was based on similar graphic content.
“What do you mean, Zero?” Noguchi wrote, before saying that he felt the star blade demonstration was “really fun” and “action-packed.”
“Zero, you said that our dead space was not good because the cross section of the damaged parts and internal organs were visible. But here you can see the cross sections and the interior, so I’m not convinced you’re using Zero D.”
