In a recent interview with Famitsu, ZeniMax Asia general manger Tetsu Takahashi revealed that the Japanese version of The Evil Within will be edited, and that the removed content will be available as DLC.

In order to obtain a CERO D rating (17 and up), Bethesda will publish The Evil Within in Japan with significantly less gore and blood than the Western version. Thanks to a Siliconera translation, Takahashi explained, “If we were to make it the same way as the foreign version, it’d be rated CERO Z (18 and up) and we felt that it’d be best to release it the way the creators make it.” He added, “However, that would limit the sales and advertising, so we’d lose the opportunity to reach out to as many customers possible.”

Japanese players will be able to get the same violent experience as European and North American gamers by downloading the Gore Mode DLC. Pre-order customers will automatically receive the DLC pack.

Takahashi stressed that the editing won’t affect the game experience; “Speaking with Mikami [Shinji] about how having The Evil Within be rated CERO D won’t have an effect on the game itself, it has become possible to make it that way. Again, this new game is also getting a vast amount of pre-orders, so that also strengthened our resolve.”

The Evil Within is set for an Oct. 21 release date in North America for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It will be released two days later in Japan.

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