The European release of The Last of Us features less bloodshed than its North American counterpart, developer Naughty Dog has confirmed.
Speculation as to whether the PAL version had been censored has been gathering steam in recent weeks, leading to a response from a community manager on Naughty Dog’s official forums.
“The gore and violence ratings are subject to local regulatory boards in various countries, so the game must be slightly changed in order to accommodate those choices,” the statement reads.
“If you import the North/South American version, it will not be censored, but EU/UK will be.”
To be more specific, The Last of Us’ European multiplayer mode features less gore than the U.S. version. There’s not as much blood for one thing, but more notably, survivors cannot be dismembered either.
Sadly, Naughty Dog hasn’t responded to suggestions of an option to toggle the more violent content on or off in the game.
The good news, however, is that the main campaign is completely uncut in PAL regions as it is everywhere else in the world.
Read our review of The Last of Us here.
How do you feel about the revelation that The Last of Us has been censored in Europe? Are you bothered about the missing content, or aren’t you fussed either way? Sound off in the comments section below.