The Callisto Protocol has been canceled in Japan due to a censorship dispute

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Editing The Callisto Protocol to Japan's CERO standards would apparently compromise the experience

The Callisto Protocol screenshot
(Image credit: Krafton)

The Callisto Protocol has been canceled in Japan due to a dispute with the Japanese rating agency Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO).

The official Twitter account for The Callisto Protocol shared a message in Japanese which, roughly translated, reads:

"The Japanese version of The Callisto Protocol has been discontinued. At present, we have decided that we will not be able to pass the CERO rating, and if we change the content, we will not be able to provide the experience the player expects. I would appreciate it if everyone in Japan understands."

Basically, CERO decided there were certain, unspecified elements of The Callisto Protocol that needed tweaking to pass approval for publication, and instead of making the necessary changes, the publisher decided to scrap its Japanese release entirely. 

While folks in Japan who preordered the game are being refunded, this is still a huge blow to horror fans in that part of the world. Of course, those determined enough to play the game could still try to find a region-free copy - although that might prove easier for console players than PC gamers - but this will undoubtedly stop some people from playing the game. 

On the bright side, the news that it's been canceled in Japan due to censorship probably means it's pretty gruesome, which should set horror lovers' tongues wagging. We'd already heard straight from director Glen Schofield that it's way gorier than Dead Space, and our own The Callisto Protocol hands-on preview notes an unexpectedly "bone-crushing violence" to the game's melee side, so this is yet another reassurance that the game will be satisfyingly gross.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.