Stellar Blade’s “uncensored” Japan release sparks controversy as EA exec complains his 2023 game was banned over similar gore

Dead Space was refused a CERO rating unless it altered its gore

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An EA developer has criticized the Japanese ratings board over its consistency and vague policies, after it allowed Stellar Blade to release as “uncensored” in Japan.

Stellar Blade’s official Twitter account just posted the tweet below, revealing to users that the “same uncensored version” of the action-RPG would be released in all counties, including in Japan. This means Stellar Blade has received the approval of CERO, the Japanese ratings board, to release in the country without any alterations whatsoever, earning a CERO D rating, which equates to a 17+ rating.

「Stellar Blade」 offers the same uncensored version in all countries, including the Japanese version.ステラブレードは、日本版を含むすべての国で検閲されていない同じバージョンを提供しています。#StellarBlade #PS5 #Uncensored pic.twitter.com/dJojSgZH9yApril 21, 2024

If you’ve played Stellar Blade’s recentPS5demo, you’ll know it features dismemberment and some gory moments in the opening hour. Specifically, a character’s arm is sliced off at one point, and the gory end of said arm can be seen as the character then speaks to Stellar Blade’s protagonist Eve.

It’s mainly because of moments like these that CERO is facing questions surrounding its consistency in ratings. AsAutomaton Mediafirst reported, EA Japan general manager Shaun Noguchi asked “what’s going on” at CERO in arecent tweet, pointing out that the ratings board refused EA’s Dead Space remake a rating based on the fact that it shows severed body parts and internal organs.

2023’s Dead Space remake never released in Japan, because EA refused to alter the game to the point where it would receive a CERO rating for release in Japan. It’s not the only horror game to have pulled out of a Japanese launch recently - The Callisto Protocol, which just happened to be a horror game from Dead Space’s original director, also refused to alter gory content for a CERO rating.

Noguchi finds this “hard to accept,” and calls into question why Stellar Blade has received a rating with cross-section and internal organs on display, when Dead Space didn’t. In fact, Dead Space wasn’t even eligible for a CERO Z rating in Japan, the equivalent of an 18+ rating, while Stellar Blade has received a lower CERO D (17+) age rating in Japan.

In the follow-up tweet below, Noguchi adds that he has no ill will towards Stellar Blade whatsoever, but is instead calling into question the consistency of CERO’s rating policy for releases in Japan. The EA Japan general manager even adds that he found the Stellar Blade demo so fun that he recommends others buy the full game at launch.

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誤解を招かないよう一言追加ですが…ステラーブレイド自体に対して悪意は全くありませんむしろ面白かったので買ったほうがいいです！これは純粋に日本での審査の曖昧さについて不満を述べたものなので他のタイトルでも審査で蔓延る「曖昧さ」はいっぱい事例はあげられますApril 21, 2024

Stellar Blade launches later this week on April 26, exclusively for PS5. Read up on ourStellar Blade previewfor what we made of the new action game when we played it for ourselves ahead of launch.

You can also check out ourupcoming PS5 gamesguide for a look ahead at all the otherSonyconsole exclusives for this year and beyond.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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