Yesterday, the console war took a giant step towards peace. Helldivers 2 made the jump from PlayStation 5 to Xbox, and more excitingly, for the first time ever, the Gears of War series was made playable on PlayStation via the Reloaded remaster.
One region, though, unfortunately, suffered the consequences of Gears of War’s extreme gore. In June, it was confirmed that the PS5 version of Gears of War: Reloaded had been shelved in Japan due to “blood and intense violence,” with the cancellation blamed on “regional rating restrictions and platform policies.”
But, while those hoping to play the PlayStation 5 version of Gears of War: Reloaded are suffering, those playing on Xbox have received a strange reprieve, with the new version of the game implementing much of the gore that was originally censored in the Xbox 360 version.
Gears Of War: Reloaded Has Reinstated Some Of The Original Game’s Censored Gore
via Xbox
The Xbox 360 version of Gears of War in Japan was heavily censored. Explosions from the shotgun were muted, as were kills with the chainsaw, and severed limbs were often blacked out. This was due to the Japanese ratings board CERO’s classification system, which didn’t look too kindly on excessive gore.
Strangely, however, while the Japanese PS5 version of Gears of War: Reloaded was banned due to CERO’s guidelines, the Xbox version received additional gore.
According to Gamespark, which reviewed the game, Gears of War: Reloaded faced a “significant relaxation of restrictions on expression from the Japanese version for Xbox 360.”
Elements that were replaced for various reasons when the original Japanese version was released have been resurrected after nearly 20 years.
The Japanese news site said, “Elements that were replaced for various reasons when the original Japanese version was released, such as the severed limbs of enemies killed with a chainsaw in the Japanese version for Xbox 360, or enemies and allies being blown to pieces with a shotgun, have been resurrected after nearly 20 years.” The site also noted that the cutscenes of Reloaded had been updated to match those of Gears of War’s Ultimate Edition.
It’s a little bonkers that a game can be banned on one platform, yet made more gory on another, but guidelines are guidelines, and who am I to argue?
Gears of War: Reloaded
Released
August 26, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s)
The Coalition
Multiplayer
Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Yes
Number of Players
Single-player
AloJapan.com