Published , by Brittany Vincent
Published , by Brittany Vincent
Following the Australian Classification Board's ruling that DayZ would end up being banned from the country due to its depiction of drugs (in this case, marijuana) Bohemia Interactive has decided to edit the game all over the globe.
Last week's decision that found the ACB rejecting DayZ's physical release due to the "illicit or prescribed drug use related to incentives" (cannabis use) has now influenced the company to go ahead and cut this content from the game to avoid having to make a special case. Now, everyone's copy will be edited so that a complete Australian ban doesn't end up happening.
"At the moment, we are editing the global version of DayZ so it will fit into the Board's requirements," the studio said in an interview with Kotaku Australia. "The key objective is to keep the gameplay as authentic as it was, so players are not affected by this change."
The team thought about taking Australia out of the release mix at first until thinking of a different solution, but Bohemia Interactive "[didn't] want to separate Australian players from the rest of the world, since many people play cross-region." Fair play, especially since it's available in plenty of different areas.
"We love that DayZ is the place to meet with friends and experience the game without dramatic regional lag. We don't want to change that," said the publisher.
It's not clear just yet exactly what will be edited for re-release, but expect to see DayZ living a "drug-free life" in the days to come in a bid to appease the Australian government.