BT.com has reported that South Park: The Stick of Truth will be censored in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. A small number of scenes from the game have been cut, and have instead been replaced with on-screen text that describes the censored content. Similar censorships will also make their way into the Australian version of the game. According to the documentation given to BT.com, seven scenes of around 20 seconds each have been censored, and that the decision to censor these scenes was made by Ubisoft EMEA.
The following scenes have been censored:
- Five scenes where the characters are actively being “anal probed.”
- A mini-game in which the player has to perform an abortion on Randy.
- A mini-game in which a doctor performs an abortion on the player.
It’s interesting that The Stick of Truth will be censored in the EMEA regions, considering that in regions such as the UK and US, the game is rated 18 and M respectively. It should be noted that even though PEGI has given The Stick of Truth an 18-rating, PEGI does not censor games. Rather, the organization rates a game based on its content. Considering that the South Park franchise is well known for its dark and crude humor, it is interesting that Ubisoft EMEA has taken steps in censoring the game, though a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer that the decision to censor content “was a marketing decision.”