Released in December 2023 on PC, the shooter Ready or Not received an update that has caused controversy among its players. In order to get the game rated and released for consoles, Void Interactive has made many adjustments to issues such as nudity and violence in recent days .
In a lengthy post shared on Steam, the studio said it has decided to slightly lessen the impact of dismemberment on the experience. While it can still happen during combat, the mechanic will no longer work once an opponent is considered dead.
Ready or Not has also decided to “cover up a bit more” some NPCs and suspects, making moments of explicit nudity virtually disappear. The game’s creators have also reinforced their policies against scenes of violence involving minors , which has resulted in some subtle changes in animations.
Decision sparked accusations of censorship against Ready or Not
“ The changes from the console version are small enough that most people wouldn’t notice them here if we didn’t say anything, but we want to be transparent ,” Void Interactive says. “ It’s only the evidence and nudity that have been changed, and the texture changes don’t affect PC .”
Void Interactive’s decision to change elements of the game has resulted in the game receiving a number of negative reviews on Steam . Many consumers claim that the studio is censoring Ready or Not , and that it is unfair to lose elements on PC as a consequence of the console release .
“ Censorship due to future console release is a great way to get a negative review. What a stupid decision. The developers stated in 2018: police/SWAT encounters intense and violent situations that we will show unfiltered. I think that was all a big lie ,” says a player who did not agree with the decision.
Studio ensures that the game’s tone will be maintained
While many of the negative reviews come from people who have only played Ready or Not for a short time, others have come from players who have spent dozens of hours on the game. In its defense, Void Interactive said it only made changes when its partners deemed them absolutely necessary .
She also explained that any adjustments “ are meant to stay true to the tone of the game, so there’s no reason to freak out .” However, this message hasn’t entirely convinced the public, with 47% of the 4,600 recent reviews the title has received on Steam being considered negative .
Source: PC Gamer
