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Striking Distance pulls Callisto Protocol from Japan

Striking Distance pulls Callisto Protocol from Japan

Upcoming sci-fi horror title The Callisto Protocol is no longer going to be launching in Japan.

That's according to the game's own Twitter account, which says that it has not been able to pass with the country's rating agency, CERO. Industry analyst Dr Serkan Toto has added that this is due to the level of violence in the game and developer Striking Distance refused to amend.

As a result, publisher Krafton and the studio have decided to pull the release of the game in the country. Furthermore, the duo is going to be providing refunds for those who have pre-ordered the title.

"The Callisto Protocol has decided to stop the release of the Japanese version," a translation of the original Japanese tweet, verified by Eurogamer, said.

"As of now, the CERO rating cannot be passed. We have decided that we would no longer be able to provide you with the experience you need. We hope everyone in Japan will understand. If you have already pre-ordered, we will refund you."

The Callisto Protocol is set to release in December of this year. It is being developed by veterans of EA's Visceral Games studio who made horror sci-fi title Dead Space. 


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.