Category: Video Games

VOID Interactive has responded to player backlash after it made changes to the PC version of its controversial shooter Ready or Not in order to secure a console release, citing “misconceptions and misinformation” about the amendments.

Yesterday, July 2, we reported that VOID said it had to adjust levels of gore, nudity, violence, and the “mistreatment of children” ahead of the July 15 console release, and rather than “maintaining multiple versions with different assets and mechanics” that would “increase the likelihood of bugs,” some aspects of the PC version have also been revised.

At the time, VOID insisted the changes were “small enough that most people here wouldn’t notice if we didn’t say anything,” but it “wanted to be transparent” with its players. The news has caused Ready or Not’s Steam user review rating to hit “mostly negative” for recent reviews, although overall the review rating remains “very positive.” Most of the negative reviews complain about “censorship.”

Now, in a new statement, VOID set out “full visibility” into what has, and has not, changed, including before-and-after screenshots. It insisted “the effects of gore and violence have not been toned down.”

“We recently shared that Ready or Not’s PC version underwent minor content changes to support stability and align with policies enforced by global platforms and age rating bodies,” the statement began. “These adjustments were made to ensure a smooth global launch across platforms — while fully preserving the game’s tone, themes, and intensity.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen misconceptions and misinformation circulating around the scope of these changes. We want to ensure our entire community has full visibility into what has — and has not — changed. We’re including before-and-after visuals to show that the game’s tone, atmosphere, and graphical impact remain intact. The effects of gore and violence — key to the game’s immersive realism — have not been toned down.”

VOID stressed that missions such as Elephant, Neon Tomb, and the infamous Valley of the Dolls “remain unchanged,” adding it has “always believed in creative freedom and the right to build experiences that push boundaries in the service of immersion and realism. That will not change.”

“At the same time, we operate in a global ecosystem of platform standards, age rating boards, and local legal restrictions,” the studio added. “While we may disagree with how some content is treated, we’ve only made changes where absolutely required, and only to the letter of the regulations — no further. As a hyper-realistic tactical FPS, Ready or Not faces different scrutiny than more stylized or fictional games. That’s a reality of the world we publish in — not a change in our creative vision or values.”

Warning! Potentially distrubing images of Ready or Not follow:

The team then outlined specifically what the “six targeted visual changes” entailed:

• Twisted Nerve: The girl is now depicted as sleeping instead of convulsing
• A Lethal Obsession: Nudity involving the ghillie suit suspect has been adjusted
• Hide and Seek: Female hostages now wear underwear
• Narcos: Police informant hostage now wears underwear
• 23 Megabytes a Second: ‘Photo of Minors’ objective model was revised, also to better connect narratively with the later ‘Sinuous Trail’ mission
• Post-mortem dismemberment has been disabled (note: dismemberment for living characters remains unchanged).

“It’s not about the specifics, it’s a matter of principle,” wrote one respondent in the comments. “Any amount of censorship is too much.” Another said: “great, so you’re saying you’re hearing us, but refusing to listen.” “Yeah, damaging the vision of the game just because of console port?” added someone else. “Get a grip, at least put a slider in the settings. What is this?”

While most of the 1,200+ comments continue to complain about censorship, not all players are aggrieved: “Honestly, not that big of a deal as long as overall map atmosphere stays good,” said another.

VOID Interactive parted ways with publisher Team17 one day after the developer shared it would have a school shooting level. Ready or Not was briefly hauled offline in 2022 after a takedown request was issued due to a trademark dispute. The issue related to a level that depicted a mass shooting at a nightclub called Prysm, which was released on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 got its hotly anticipated Siege Mode update last week, and while fans are enjoying it, crashes and disconnects have marred the experience.

Siege Mode is Space Marine 2’s take on the classic video game Horde mode. It sees teams of three players fight against increasingly difficult waves of Tyranid and Chaos enemies for exclusive rewards.

Players have responded to Siege Mode and its accompanying Patch 8 well, and Space Marine 2 has seen a surge of players on Steam at least, where player data is public. But connection problems are on occasion ruining the experience, especially when they arrive deep into the waves.

Just yesterday, July 2, the complaints were continuing. “I feel incredibly f***ed,” said an exasperated Justusowesme on the Space Marine subreddit.

“I just spent almost three hours in a Siege round. FINALLY got some good brothers who know what they are doing. Most epic experience I had in a long time. So looking forward to the rewards and feeling of accomplished, finally beating it. BUT NO MID FIGHT LAST ROUND BEFORE EVAC THE SERVERS JUST GIVE UP. NO MONEY, NO EXP, NO SKINS AND NOT EVEN AN SATISFYING END TO THE GLORIOUS FIGHT THAT ME AND MY BROTHERS HAD. I had fun, yes but essentially I just got robbed almost three hours of progress. That feels so incredibly insulting, I can’t man…

“Please anybody in charge I know you’re working already on it, with great haste too probably… BUT STILL, BY THE EMPEROR, WHAT THE WARP.”

In response, Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive and publisher Focus Entertainment have released the 8.1 hotfix, which is now live on every platform. It fixes various crashes and connectivity issues, as well as a bug preventing the reward for completing 25 waves in Siege Mode to unlock.

The hope is this hotfix stamps out the Siege Mode problems reported by the likes of poor old Justusowesme like a Space Marine stomping on the head of a xenos, but it’s early days yet.

Looking ahead, there’s a lot of exciting content coming to Space Marine 2. While Patch 9 will focus on balance changes only, Patch 10 adds a new Chaos vs Chaos PvP mode, the new Power Axe melee weapon, and the new Techmarine class. Check out all the Space Marine 2 Patch 10 details here.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 8.1 hotfix patch notes:

• Fixed several crashes
• Fixed several issues causing disconnects
• Fixed Siege Mode rewards from wave 25+
• Lots of small fixes to Siege Mode map geometry
• Fixed bug that was causing random enemies to get stronger much faster in infinite waves, causing one shot deaths randomly (Note: enemies are still going to get stronger but it will be not random and more consistent)
• Fixed a bug in Siege Mode that occurred when a player would join a game in progress, the game would not apply difficulty modifiers correctly.
• Fixed a bug in UI that was causing inability to change colour presets
• Minor localization fixes

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.