Oh no! The Callisto Protocol will not be coming out in Japan

Bad news for friends in Japan, according to a recent statement by developer Striking Distance Studios the Japanese release of The Callisto Protocol is cancelled.

Yes, you read that right, the studio shared the sad news via its Japanese Twitter account where it announced the game has been unable to pass the requirements to be certified by the Japanese ratings board CERO.

pic.twitter.com/fXtsIY4Fz3

— The Callisto Protocol (@CallistoGameJP) October 26, 2022

In case you missed it: The Callisto Protocol has officially gone gold!

Ok… but how?

In case you aren’t familiar with the Japanese rating system, you should know the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) is the organization behind rating every video game content that enters Japan. It was established in June 2002 as a branch of Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, and while they have adjusted their rating process to the latest times, there are several media that is still not allowed.

You may be wondering how, well, the rating is determined by 30 different expressions, each with an upper limit. The expressions that exceed the upper limit are designated as "banned expressions”.

These “expressions” are categorized into four different types:

• Sex-related expression type (Love, Sexual Content)
• Violence expression type (Violence, Horror)
• Antisocial act expression type (Drinking/Smoking, Gambling, Crime, Drugs)
• Language and ideology-related expression type (Language)

Of course, we can imagine which one The Callisto Protocol was unable to pass.

In case you missed it: The Callisto Protocol, horror at 60 fps!

Censoring wasn’t an option for them

The studio has also shared that in order to be approved and get the CERO certification they would require to censor a great part of the game’s content and obviously this could have ruined the experience. As expected, every Japanese player who pre-ordered the game will be getting a refund. Incredibly sad news taking into account that the game was just a couple of months away from its official release.

If you are outside of Japan, remember that The Callisto Protocol will arrive this December 2 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.