Assassin’s Creed Shadows Gets Censored In Japan

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be censored in Japan due to its depiction of gore and has received a mature rating from the country’s video game rating system.

According to Ubisoft Japan (translated by Automaton), depictions of dismemberment have been completely removed from the Japanese version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Other versions of the game will still have the ability to to toggle the dismemberment feature on or off.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has also been rated CERO Z by Japan’s video game rating system, which is the equivalent of North America’s ESRB rating of M. The Japanese version will have some modified voice lines as well, but Ubisoft Japan didn’t provide any additional explanation or details.

This isn’t the first time CERO stepped in regarding dismemberment in a video game. 2023’s Dead Space remake was banned in Japan because of the game’s depiction of severed body parts. However, its ban was later criticized after Stellar Blade’s Japanese rating was revealed. The game depicted dismemberment, but it was still allowed to be sold in Japan.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in feudal Japan, which could explain why Ubisoft and the Japan video game ratings board are being extra careful with this release. Director Chris Benoit said that the reason behind the game’s second delay was to polish the parkour mechanics on feudal Japan’s architecture.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will launch on March 20 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. In GameSpot’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows preview, we said, “Ubisoft Quebec seems poised to be the first to pull together Assassin’s Creed’s disparate eras, but we’ve been here before and it’s routinely not worked out.”