Review-Bombed on Steam Over Perceived PC 'Censorship'

Ready or Not, the tactical first-person shooter by VOID Interactive, is facing review bombing on Steam. This backlash stems from modifications made to the game to facilitate its release on consoles.

In a statement on Steam, VOID explained that adjustments to levels of gore, nudity, violence, and depictions of "mistreatment of children" were necessary ahead of the July 15 console launch. To avoid maintaining multiple game versions with differing assets and mechanics—which would heighten the risk of bugs—the team also revised some aspects of the PC edition.

"Throughout this console port process, we've done our utmost to only make changes when they are flagged as absolutely required by our first-party partners, and any changes aim to remain faithful to the original tonality of the game, so there is no reason to be alarmed," the development team insisted.

"Our age rating for console is ESRB M, PEGI 18, and USK 18, for reference. However, console platforms have additional content requirements for games on their systems, and a portion of these adjustments will be reflected in the PC version as well."

The studio acknowledged that if a change merely involved something like "a texture swap," it could preserve the original intent for PC players. However, "if the change involved transforming an entire asset (like adding clothing to a character model) this was less feasible."

Some specific changes noted by the team include preventing the dismemberment of enemies after death—though limbs can still be shot off while targets are alive—reduced depictions of torture and nudity, and an altered animation where a child is now shown as "unconscious or sleeping, rather than the previous convulsive animation that appeared violent."

"The console-related changes are subtle enough that most players wouldn't notice if we hadn't mentioned them, but we value transparency," VOID added. "Primarily, it's evidence and nudity that have been adjusted, and the texture changes do not impact the PC version."

Now, some PC players are voicing their strong disapproval.

"Do not buy this game. Do not support VOID Interactive. The game had its flaws initially, but now they are choosing to censor it," said one user. "They made their money from you—the PC players on Steam—and now, out of sheer greed, they’re appeasing console market regulators by censoring the game to meet their demands."

"PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!!" insisted another. "There is NO REASON to censor ANY content. This censorship is lazy propaganda because they refuse to do the work to separate PC and console versions!!! I DID NOT PAY FOR AN 18+ GAME JUST FOR IT TO BE CENSORED!!!"

While Ready or Not maintains a 'Very Positive' overall rating on Steam, recent reviews have turned 'Mixed' due to the influx of negative feedback. VOID has not yet publicly addressed the complaints. IGN has reached out for comment.

Ready or Not was temporarily removed from sale in 2022 following a takedown request linked to a trademark dispute. The issue centered on a level depicting a mass shooting at a nightclub named Prysm, which was released on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

VOID Interactive ended its partnership with publisher Team17 just one day after announcing plans for a school shooting level in the game.