The Callisto Protocol will not be released in Japan as it failed to receive ratings from the Japanese rating agency, possibly due to its violent scenes. The studio said via its Japanese Twitter account that the localized version for Japan will be discontinued and anyone who pre-orders will receive a refund.
Studio, VGC “We have determined that the game cannot exceed the CERO rating in its current state, and changing the content will not provide the experience players expect. Players in Japan, thank you for your understanding.”
Reading the contents of the shared tweet, it seems that the developers at Striking Distance did not want to edit their game to pass the CERO rating, so the developers chose not to release the game. Previously, the games of important series such as Gears of War, GTA and Call of Duty have been edited many times to be published in Japan. A comparison video for Until Dawn shows the heavy edits the game has made to help it pass CERO evaluation in Japan.
Japan's Kantan Games Inc. from Dr. Serkan Toto stated in a tweet that CERO has become more stringent over the years.
The Callisto Protocol takes place in a prison on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons. It is known that the game will be extremely violent and bloody from the published images. In fact, Striking Dance boss Glen Schofield said the development team looked to horrific car crash scenes for inspiration.
The game also uses haptic feedback in some ways, including helping the player "feel" a bone break.
The Callisto Protocol launches December 2 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Schofield said he has ideas for additional entries in the series. For this reason, the game may give birth to a sequel later.
On the other hand, Striking Distance has confirmed that The Callisto Protocol will have a 60fps mode. This news was shared after the studio confirmed that the developers of Gotham Knights had limited the game to 30fps.
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