During the June PlayStation State of Play presentation, Team Clout studio unveiled a new story trailer for their horror game ILL. The game, scheduled for release in 2027, immediately drew attention with its extremely violent scenes and realistic depiction of gore. However, it is this very feature that has caused concern among Japanese players, who fear that the project may not be released in the country at all.
The reason for the discussions was the situation with the State of Play broadcast. Although the ILL trailer was present in the international version of the show and the game is announced with a Japanese interface and subtitles, the video was cut from the Japanese PlayStation channel without any official comments. This sparked a wave of rumors about possible problems with the project's certification in Japan.
The main reason for concern is the CERO age rating system. Despite the existence of the CERO Z category for audiences over 18, some games still do not receive release permission due to excessively violent content. The regulator is particularly strict about scenes of dismemberment and the display of severed body parts.
Similar cases have happened before. In 2022, the sci-fi horror game The Callisto Protocol failed to pass CERO certification. The developers then stated that the necessary censorship would change the gameplay experience too much, so it was decided to abandon the Japanese release.
A similar situation occurred with the Dead Space remake. The console version of the game did not receive release permission in Japan because it did not meet the requirements of the rating system. As a result, the project appeared on the local market only in digital format for PC.
The fact is that digital releases can use the international IARC rating system, bypassing the CERO review procedure. Thanks to this, such games can be released in the Japanese segment of Steam without additional censorship. However, for physical media and consoles, including PlayStation 5, passing CERO review remains mandatory.
According to a number of industry representatives, the PC version of ILL is unlikely to face serious obstacles, while the console release in Japan may be in question. Some experts believe that the situation could be changed by supporting IARC ratings for adult games in the Japanese PlayStation Store.