Baldur's Gate 3 Japanese Release To Be Heavily Censored

Baldur's Gate 3 is set to launch in Japan next month, with Japanese development and localization studio Spike Chunsoft publishing it. But in order for Baldur's Gate 3 to be in compliance with CERO’s Code of Ethics standards, portions of the game's explicit content is being cut.

As for what's being cut in the Japanese version, it includes “display of nudity in cutscenes,” “display of genitals,” and being able to "view sex scenes." The Japanese version will also remove the option for players torture certain NPCs in the Goblin Camp in Act 1. 

Currently, in other versions of the game, players have the option to enable to disable explicit content via the options menu. However, in the Japanese release, the option will be permenantly locked to "off."

CERO's rating system ranges from CERO A (suitable for all ages), up to CERO Z which strictly classifies games for those aged 18+. Even titles sitting in the CERO Z classification still must adhere to CERO's standards when it comes to "banned expressions" which, according to the Code of Ethics, Baldur's Gate 3 features a number of in its default state.

Spike Chunsoft is perhaps best known for developing the Danganronpa series, but the studio has also published localizations of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 to name a few.