Hardcore horror THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL Domestic Xbox version was canceled. Domestic regular purchases from Japan, including Steam, have been annihilated

It seems that the domestic Xbox One/Xbox Series X | S version of The Callisto Protocol has been released. Horror games, whose PS version was canceled near the release, has become difficult to purchase regularly from Japan on any platform.

THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL is a story-led single play survival horror game. The story set in 2320, Callisto, called the Death Month in Jupiter. Players approach the terrible secrets hidden in Callisto, trying to escape from strictly guarded Black Iron Prison. Striking Distance Studio is working on development. CEO, Glen School, was once in charge of Executive Producer of DEAD SPACE at Visceral Games.

This work is scheduled to be released on December 2 for PC (Steam/Epic Games Store)/PS4/PS5/Xbox Series X | S, and will be released in Japan. However, on October 28, the official Twitter account for Japan was announced in Japan. The reason was that it was not possible to pass the rating of HERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization), and if the content was changed, it would not be possible to provide the expected experience. It was also reported that the reservation purchaser would be refunded. Although the platform that was canceled was not specified, the store page could not be viewed from the PS Store.

As of the morning of October 28, reservations were continued for the Steam version and the domestic Xbox One/Xbox Series X | S version. However, on the afternoon of the same day, Steam version store page access was not possible. On the morning of November 10, several Twitter users reported that the Xbox version could not be purchased at Microsoft Store. The same is true for the Epic Games store, and although reservations were continued at the time, it is now impossible to purchase or add to carts. After the release of the HERO rating base PS version was canceled, the development of another hardware that had acquired other rating seems to have been canceled.

For home-use game consoles in Japan, games have been released in a rating screening and the target age is determined. In Japan, it is essential to basically request HERO to judge for the screening of package games and age categories. On the other hand, for the sale of download-only games, the ARC (International Age Rating Coalition) can be used. ARC is a rating organization based overseas. Only download-only game apps are subject to judging.

The ARC also has a platform holder, and each has determined whether to handle titles with ARC ratings and the like for each country and region. Currently, ARC is available at Nintendo E Shop, PS Store and Microsoft Store.

THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL has many grotesque scenes where the human body, such as the protagonist, is deficient in seeing trailers. It seems that PS was scheduled to be released after acquiring HERO rating (Steam Store Page also described HERO screening). However, as mentioned at the beginning, the seller gave up the acquisition of HERO rating, resulting in the release of the PS and Steam version. On the other hand, according to the Xbox Series X | S version store page, ARC has an 18+ rating. Nintendo E Shop and PS Store can not sell 18+ rating games, but they are possible at Microsoft Store. If it is downloaded, it seems that the Xbox version will be released, but it seems that the release was canceled in the form of associations.

By the way, DEAD SPACE, once involved by Schofield, is currently developing a remake version under Motive Studio under Electronic Arts. It is scheduled to be released on January 27, 2023. This is the Xbox version of the store page stated that it will be HERO screening, and it is not possible to make a reservation. The Steam Store page and the Epic Games store cannot be viewed from Japan. There are many grotesque scenes in the same work, and Gore description is enhanced from the original version. Due to rating issues, domestic release of games with many cruel expressions has become unclear, and there are concerns about future trends.