Dying Light: The Beast faces censorship in Japan over gore content

Gamers in Japan who are looking forward to trying Dying Light: The Beast may be surprised to find that their version of the game is not the same as the one released worldwide. This is because, due to local restrictions, the game has been censored and changed in several ways.

If you visit the official Japanese website for Dying Light: The Beast and scroll to the bottom, you’ll find a section confirming that the Japanese version of the game has been given a CERO Z rating. This is the highest rating for games in Japan, given to titles that contain strong violence or adult content.

To make the game available to Japanese audiences, the developers had to adjust the global version to reduce gore and depictions of violence. For instance, they had to remove certain details, such as missing faces and torso models, and make changes to the appearance of female infected models. On top of that, all forms of nudity have been completely removed from the game.

"The Japanese version of Dying Light: The Beast has received a CERO Z rating after making the following changes from the overseas version." The website further mentions, "These changes have resulted in an overall tone down on violent scenes, while still allowing Japanese players to enjoy seamless co-op play with friends playing the overseas version."

While these adjustments were made specifically to comply with Japan’s content guidelines, it’s important to note that creating different versions of a game is not a simple task for developers. A clear example of this is Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, which also faced censorship in Japan back in September 2024. In an interview with GameSpark, the team behind the game admitted that preparing two different versions was very difficult, and it had a “tremendous impact” on their workload.