10 Times Rockstar Games Got CENSORED
Banned in Australia
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I remember as a young Australian lad having to visit our one friend who managed to get GTA III before it was removed from shelves - and I didn’t even like this friend, I just wanted to see blood and guts in three dimensions. In Australia, before video games are allowed to be sold they must be given a classification and rating by the Australian classifications board. In 2002, the Office of Film and Literature Classifications (as they were known then) decided the game was not suitable to be viewed or played by any minor, particularly due to the way the player could engage in prostitution. GTA III was denied classification, and was unable to be sold legally. It wasn’t until 2019 when the game was rereleased that it was given a classification and peace was finally restored to Australia.
Banning the Casino
Gambling is prevalent in video game culture. Unfortunately, due to lootbox systems and microtransactions, children and young adults are getting a taste of what gambling is long before they can actually gamble legally. In 2019, GTA introduced casinos to GTA Online where players could bet on horses, hit the tables, and engage in regular casino activities. This was NOT taken well by many countries including Thailand, Venezuela, Pakistan, South Africa, Argentina, and over 50 other countries that decided to ban GTA Online. Over time, some of these countries have retracted their rules on gambling in video games, but many still remain vigilant.
Japanese Censorship
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With most games hitting shelves all around the world, it’s easy to forget that not every country has the same rules as the one you are currently in. The version of the game you are playing could actually be quite different from the version someone across the world is playing. When Red Dead Redemption 2 released, Japan had to make changes due to their restrictions around violence. In the western release, body parts were able to be dismembered with precisely placed shots. In the Japanese release, body parts would simply explode. This meant that different textures had to be made so as to not show bone or internal organs. One of the funniest effects of this censorship is in the collection of missions where you track down a serial killer's gory murders, and pull maps out of the decapitated heads of the killer’s victims. For Japanese players, the heads remained, but the disfigured bodies were replaced with intact ones, which begs the question, “where did all these heads come from?” Other censorships included the removal of any and all nudity in the game, resulting in some minor changes with hilarious results.
Transphobic Content Removed
Some may call it “cancel-culture striking again” or “censorship gone mad.” In reality, it seems Rockstar quietly made the decision internally to tweak and change minor details of their still very popular game, as it no longer reflected the attitude and culture of their team. Redditors and fans of the game discovered some minor tweaks to elements of the game that many considered “transphobic 2013 style humor.” These changes included the removal of stereotyped caricatures of trans and drag NPC’s, and even some very small changes like the “Interstellar Transgendered” action figure, which can be seen in an in-game store front. The toy featured some offensive jokes in the description. Some fans took Rockstar’s silence as guilt, and demanded explanation and apology, while others see their quiet approach to change as a brave and personal move, rather than a move to score brownie points.
Canis Canem Edit
It is a very difficult job to defend Rockstar’s 2006 masterpiece “Bully”. Essentially, GTA set in a school, the player must fight, commit crimes, go to class, kiss everyone, and just generally be a bully. Many countries still released the game, but felt the title “Bully” was a little on the nose. Across Europe and Australia, the game was retitled “Canis Canem Edit”, which is Latin for “Dog Eat Dog”. Other countries like Brazil, banned the game entirely. In fact, a fine of around $200 US could be given to citizens for selling, or even just OWNING the game.
The Taxi Incident
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Obviously Grand Theft Auto faces a lot of pushback all over the globe as a game that lets players act out the worst in their characters. Whilst most countries have made restrictions at one time or another, only one country has flat out banned every iteration and release of GTA, and that country is Thailand. In 2008, a man by the name of Polwat Chino took a taxi ride in Bangkok. When the driver told him the cost, he responded by stabbing the driver to death and exiting the taxi. He claimed that because of GTA, he realized how easy killing was, and that he wanted the money to continue playing the game at an internet cafe. The Thailand government responded immediately by banning the game entirely.
German Censorship
With particular countries come particular versions of games released. After being banned upon release, GTA III was finally available in Germany in 2012, albeit with maybe the longest list of game changes we’ve seen in a Rockstar game. In the German version, players are totally unable to hit, kick, shoot or hurt defenseless NPCs. Blood effects were totally removed. You are also no longer able to blow off heads or limbs. In the uncensored version, money would appear around NPCs you kill, while in the German version nobody dropped cash upon death, one of the more annoying changes for German players. And finally, all Rampage missions were removed from the German version. Max Payne 3 also underwent a similar make-over with the players unable to shoot or kill unarmed citizens, and unarmed police were also unshootable. Bullet holes were also removed from corpses.
Hot Coffee
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If you’re a GTA fan and you haven’t heard about Hot Coffee, you must be living under a rock, but here’s the short version. In the original release of GTA San Andreas, players unearthed and recovered some files and code in the game's data that featured a minigame cut from the full release of the game. In the minigame, CJ would engage in sexual intercourse with the gameplay being similar to the rhythm dance minigame and lowrider hydraulics minigame. Modders pulled the files and re-released it as a mod and Rockstar had to suspend all production of the game in order to patch out the files. That’s an expensive cup of coffee.
Japan Changes the Game
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In the Japanese release of GTA San Andreas, so much had to be changed and edited around that the final result was a game that not only had a disjointed and nonsensical story, but gameplay that felt totally different. All drug references and use had to be cut or edited around. Whether this was by lazily removing a joint or bong from a character's hand so they were smoking the air, or completely removing cutscenes, this resulted in a story that didn’t tackle the topic of drug culture in gang life, including the obvious negatives that the game speaks to. As for the already difficult combat, CJ was no longer able to attack downed enemies, a mechanic that is crucial in GTA San Andreas. In missions involving fire, CJ would no longer scream or appear on fire, which meant CJ would often be losing health when the player didn’t realize they’d stood a bit too close to flames. Finally, the cops are WAY more aggressive. If you hurt, touch, shove, shoot or attack anybody in ANY way, you immediately are wanted. This feature makes any mission that involves combat (even missions where police response was originally turned off), incredibly difficult.
The Bonaire Mystery
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Bringing it home for the final entry, Australia strikes again with another Rockstar ban. In 2019, the Australian Classifications Board banned a game by Rockstar from Australian classification. But what is this mystery game? Simply titled “Bonaire”, fans speculate it could be a DLC for GTA Online or possibly Red Dead Redemption 2 as Bonaire is a Caribbean island, a location where some of RDR2 takes place. There is also speculation that Bonaire is a code name, and that it’s simply used so the actual game title isn’t leaked. Red Dead Remake? GTA IV remastered? Whatever it is, there is only one thing known for certain... Australia isn’t getting a taste.
