StarCraft II censored in South Korea

By Oli Welsh Published 21 May, 2010

Blood, smoking, vulgar language removed.

StarCraft II is to be released in an edited version in South Korea to avoid an adults-only rating.

Korean e-sports site FOMOS (via 1UP and Team Liquid) has revealed that Blizzard has submitted a new version of the game with blood coloured black and smoking references and vulgar language removed.

The original version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty received an adults-only rating - 18 years and up - from the country's ratings board last month. This would have been a tremendous blow to Blizzard's fortunes in StarCraft-mad Korea, where pro-gaming StarCraft contests draw large crowds and are televised.

The ratings board has agreed to an Age 12 rating for the censored version of the game.

"Since StarCraft II was originally developed to be a game adolescents could enjoy, we're very pleased with the Game Rating Board's decision," Blizzard said. It's considering releasing the unedited version as well with the adult rating, according to FOMOS.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the first of three SCII games, will be released on 27th July.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (12) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • anomagnus #1 2 years ago

    man, i feel sorry for all those countries that get censored products.

  • Tangled #2 2 years ago

    They could provide the cut stuff as DLC. 1p for a small blood splatter, 5p for a large one, 50p for a fountain. Smoking comes for 25p, but you can watch a Malboro commercial and get it free. As for vulgar language, no need, multiplayer gamers will provide enough themselves.

  • tossetaz #3 2 years ago

    And thus we saw the beginning of How the South turned into the North

  • SAMagic #4 2 years ago

    A bizarre sense of politics is surely involved with this. If SK were genuinely concerned about those issues in the past, why didn't they EVER raise it during SC 1's lifetime, particularly when it became their national sport?

  • sneetch #5 2 years ago

    Well, I suppose attitudes have changed in the 12 years since it was released, SAMagic. (They have around here too, no smoking in pubs, no tobacco advertising anywhere). But why would they go back and re-rate an old game? I'm sure they don't go back and re-rate movies because attitudes have changed either.
    Edited by sneetch at 21/05/10 @ 11:52

  • sneetch #6 2 years ago

    BTW is this really censorship? I always thought that censorship is imposed by a government body, the Koreans aren't imposing this they've quite happily given it a rating (18+), Blizzard on the other hand have decided to tone down the game in order to get a lower rating.

  • ignatiusjreilly #7 2 years ago

    It's self-censorship, which is a different thing entirely.

  • Golgo #8 2 years ago

    @tossetaz
    is that meant to suggest 'tosser', by any chance?

  • cen4pgb #9 2 years ago

    I can't see this level of censorship really having a great effect on the game experience. Especially as Stacraft 2 will sell there mainly on its MP, and I dont really recall muchof any of those things in that, apart from from other players.

  • Feanor #10 2 years ago

    South Korea feels the same way.

  • X3Entente #11 2 years ago

    i hope blizzard just make it a simple case of editing a text file to get the gore and swearing back in, just like valve did for l4d2

  • hiddenranbir #12 2 years ago

    Wait...so what is left?