The two sides see things so differently that it’s almost impossible to remain neutral about what’s happening between Void Interactive and the player base.

The latest Steam reviews for the SWAT simulator Ready or Not have crashed into “Mostly Negative” territory after recent content changes meant to comply with console standards—changes many fans are calling censorship. The updates involve nudity and violence. Some hostages who were previously completely naked now wear underwear, dead enemies can no longer be dismembered (but live ones still can), and a level that used to feature a child convulsing in bed now just shows that child sleeping.

Void Interactive issued a statement on Steam, insisting that misinformation and confusion are spreading about how extensive the changes actually are. The studio listed each edit made to the PC version, including before-and-after images. Missions like Elephant, Neon Tomb, and the notorious Valley of the Dolls—where players raid a child pornographer’s house—are all unchanged.

According to Void, just six total changes were made. Besides the above, the developers gave underwear to a tortured police informant hostage and to a suspect in a ghillie suit. A piece of evidence previously called “Images of Prohibited Minors” (which showed faces and a bikini-clad person) is now simply “Photographic Evidence.” It contains no images of people at all.

“Void Interactive has always believed in creative freedom, and in building boundary-pushing experiences that serve immersion and realism. That will not change. We operate within a global ecosystem of platform standards, age ratings, and legal requirements. While we might not agree with every treatment of content, we only made changes where absolutely necessary, and only as the rules required—no more. This is the reality of the world we publish in, not a change in our creative vision or values,” the company wrote.

The statement did nothing to cool tempers. Ready or Not has received over 1,000 negative reviews since then, with more than 100 pages of angry Steam comments condemning censorship and accusing the studio of betrayal.

Source: PCGamer, Steam