The Japanese version of Tango Gameworks' The Evil Within will require additional downloadable content if players want to experience the original uncensored — and far bloodier — version, ZeniMax Asia general manager Tetsu Takahashi told Famitsu.
The Gore Mode DLC for The Evil Within — called Psycho Break in Japan and slated to launch in the territory on Oct. 26 — will be available through pre-orders. The version that will ship, without the DLC, has been cut to fit Japan's ages 17-and-up Cero D rating. The Gore Mode DLC increases the rating to Cero Z, or ages 18 and up.
The decision to cut the game to meet lower Japanese ratings was due to sales: Advertising for a game with a higher age rating limits the audience Tango could reach, Takahashi explained. This in turn would limit sales. While both Cero D and Cero Z versions passed Japan's ratings tests, Tango decided to release the Cero Z version as DLC as a way to incentivize players who want the full viscera-drenched experience to pre-order.
Takahashi asserted that the game will play the same with and without Gore Mode — the core experience remains unchanged. He said that the DLC will make Japan's edition of the game more closely resemble that of its overseas, non-censored version, which features elements of psychological thrillers and a whole lot of mutilated corpses.
The Evil Within will launch on Oct. 21 in North America for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.