GTA 6 in Japan Will Probably Be Censored Like Every GTA Before It

Japan-focused video game columnist @Genki_JPN put words to a worry a lot of players in Japan can relate to over the weekend and the store data suggests that he is right to express his concerns. Grand Theft Auto VI looks set to get a separate, censored Japanese version, the same treatment Rockstar Games has given its games in Japan for many years. Nothing is officially confirmed yet at the moment but history suggests that Grand Theft Auto in Japan is almost always a toned down experience.

At the moment, store backend listings found by dataminers put the global Xbox build of GTA 6 at around 209.86 GiB, in line with the 210 GB download that had been reported for the game and the Japanese CERO Z build at around 208.74 GiB, roughly 1.2 GB smaller. Australia and New Zealand sit almost dead level with the global version, separated by a sliver of metadata, while PlayStation 5 reportedly shows the same worldwide, ANZ and Japan split.

Another tell is the ratings. GTA VI carries Japan's CERO Z label, which is the country's strictest 18-and-over tier, with content icons for crime and violence but, tellingly, none for sexual and nude content or drugs. Grand Theft Auto V had the same luck of the draw, even though we know that the sequel has earned adults-only ratings across every major market and had its sex scenes flagged in rating listings.

CERO Z is the only Japanese rating that legally restricts sales to adults, but it still bars explicit sex, genitalia and the goriest dismemberment, so Rockstar edits its games to pass. GTA V is the most documented case. It has a separate Japanese build with edited sex scenes, Trevor's pants stay on in the pants-drop gag, strip-club dancers dressed down and, most notably, playable torture out of the "By the Book" mission is stripped out completely, fading to black instead.

Other Rockstar titles suffered a similar fate. Red Dead Redemption 2 saw a less gorey release for the Japanese market, with body parts vanishing instead of lingering and brothel scenes keeping their clothes on. Grand Theft Auto IV cut back blood and blocked attacks on downed enemies. The most heavily changed was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, handled by Capcom, which officially confirmed removing civilian-killing side missions and sexual occupational content, on top of disabled headshots and muted drug references.

The common thread here is sex, nudity and the most graphic gore, with the core game left relatively untouched.

To be fair, across the years, the Japanese versions only lost specific scenes and effects, the story or most of the mayhem making it what it is remained intact. The game is not banned, unlike in other countries. GTA V in Japan was noticeably trimmed but remained mostly the same. If we go by that record, any cuts to the Japanese release of GTA VI when the game comes out in November would most likely affect the game's sex scenes, nudity and the goriest moments, rather than significantly affect the experience. We will only know the exact list when players get a chance to compare the two builds after release.

Unfortunately, this scenario creates a real headache for anyone in Japan who wants to play through the uncut version. Buying out of region is not as simple as switching to a different store. Sony didn't lock PS5 discs to a specific region, so a Japanese player could run a US or UK disc, but a digital purchase and download code is a separate thing entirely. They're tied to the country on your PlayStation account, which you can't change. Rockstar has already confirmed the GTA 6 PS5 code-in-box is region-locked by account country, while Xbox codes are not. The common workaround is creating a second PSN account set to the US, funded with US gift cards and shared to the main console, which works but it splits your library, trophies and PS Plus across two accounts.

For now, what we know is the file sizes are real, the CERO history is well documented and every modern Rockstar game has received similar if not the exact same treatment.

If you are in Japan and want to play it safe with possible cuts, you'll want to buy an overseas copy, or, you can take this L because you have access to the cheapest PS5 on the market anyway.