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Ready Or Not Dev Clarifies Content Changes, Rejects Accusations of Censorship

Ready or Not developer VOID Interactive faced backlash in June for "censoring" the game to comply with the console certification process. The developer has defended its choices as not fundamentally altering Ready or Not's violence or its grim tone, but instead making minimal alterations to ensure compliance with the requirements of other platforms. In the wake of the backlash, VOID Interactive has released a new statement that clarifies exactly what content has been altered, going as far as to include "before" and "after" images to illustrate changes.

The statement emphasizes that no major changes have come to Ready or Not's shootouts. Players can still sever the limbs of foes with gunfire and it still includes plenty of blood and guts. However, players can no longer dismember the dead bodies of enemies. Elsewhere, the update removes nudity, softens an allusion to child sexual-abuse material, and replaces a convulsing NPC with a sleeping one. The statement elaborates, "The effects of gore and violence -- key to the game’s immersive realism -- have not been toned down...we’ve only made changes where absolutely required, and only to the letter of the regulations -- no further."

The statement has not halted the backlash. Portions of the game's community has continued to review bomb Ready or Not. While the overall rating is steady at "very positive," recent reviews have plummeted to "mostly negative." Multiple reviewers claim the changes have had a dramatic effect on the game's tone. One says, "It now feels like just another generic tactical shooter, weighed down by clunky AI and stripped of the atmosphere that set it apart." Other reviews find the controversy incredibly silly, with one reviewer advising the aggrieved to "touch grass."

Ready or Not is still on discount as part of the Steam Summer Sale. The base game is available for $25 and a bundle including DLC is $39. The game comes to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 15.