The Dying Light series has never had a good reputation in Germany. The first part of the first-person zombie adventure was put on the so-called A-list by the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young People (BPjM) in 2015. This meant that the title could not be advertised or sold in any way in Germany. The question now was whether the title would find its way onto German PCs and consoles or whether it would suffer the same fate as its predecessor.
In the Starlöchern
First of all, it's time to take a breath! The game has been released for the German market and without any further delays. But unfortunately this did not happen without restrictions. Because even the original version of Dying Light 2: Stay Human was put on the A-list by the BPjM. So the version is not allowed to be sold in Germany - neither in physical nor in digital form.
For this reason, Techland has developed a cut version specifically for the German market. In this sanitized version, it is not possible for you to attack and kill neutral NPCs. In addition, the amputation of limbs from human opponents is omitted, which should become one of the new key features of the zombie cutter. At least the censorship scissors should not affect any cutscenes relevant to the story, which is at least a small consolation for you. Through the sanitization of the game, Techland was able to achieve a rating of 18 years and over for Dying Light 2: Stay Human.
Multiplayer Brake
Another restriction affects the co-op mode of Dying Light 2: Stay Human. Here, as the owner of the German version, you will first only be able to join the fray with other players from Germany. According to Techland, this step is necessary to prevent the indexed content from also being accessed in Germany in the event of a co-op game between owners of the cut version and players with the uncut version. However, the developers are still checking whether a technical solution can be found to allow players to play together despite different versions.
Sales Hurdles
The game medium of Dying Light 2: Stay Human is the third point that has been restricted for the German market. Specifically, this means that Techland will not release versions of the game on DVDs, Blu-ray or other data carriers in Germany. The game is only available in digital form via the corresponding game platforms.
The developer studio justifies this step by the fact that the production costs would be higher if they were to bring the sanitized version back to the market in Germany specifically. Techland is speculating instead that they will be able to bring the original version of Dying Light 2:
