Ubisoft apologizes for censorship of AC Valhalla in Japan

Ubisoft was recently criticized in Japan for censoring blood in the domestic version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which the developer initially assigned to the Japan Computer Entertainment Classification Organization (CERO). However, the rating agency denied any involvement in the censorship, prompting Ubisoft to issue a “sincere” apology for app arently making a mistake.

As reported by Kotaku, the problem arose when Japanese players noticed a lack of blood effects on Valhalla even though the in-game menu had an option to turn on blood, it didn’t work. Considering the option was there, gamers thought it was a problem, but were shocked when Ubisoft claimed it was forced to remove blood for Valhalla

be qualified in Japan and that the action was taken “in consultation with the organization concerned”. However, CERO said in an official statement that “we had nothing to do with this and have not been contacted at all or received a request for a meeting on this matter.”

Both Valhalla and Ubisoft have since been criticized by gamers, with some calling the game a “scam”. When CERO’s statement went around, the developer apologized and claimed the missing blood was the result of a “problem within the company.” Ubisoft has promised to investigate the issue and report it in due course.

Ubisoft may have censored the blood preemptively, but no one knows why it released a statement claiming to have consulted with relevant authorities. As for the effects on the blood, they are likely to be restored with a patch.