South Korean developer NEOWIZ announced on January 19 that they would restrict certain in-game content in the German version of their “full burst” RPG BrownDust2. According to the developer, “the measure is an unavoidable response in accordance with German local laws,” meaning that the changes were necessary for them to continue providing services in Germany. Consequently, these measures will only apply to the German region and will not be affecting other countries.
Starting from January 21, five skill cutscenes (Medical Club Teresse / Nature’s Claw Rou / White Cat Rou / New Hire Seir / Demon’s Daughter Seir), Medical Club Teresse’s Fated Guest Encounters, Fated Guest Affinity Effects, and Interaction, as well as the Slap Slap Pop minigame will be hidden in Germany. Furthermore, NEOWIZ explains that four costume illustrations (Pure White Blessing Refithea / Red Riding Hood Rou / Demon’s Daughter Seir / B-Rank Idol Seir) are currently under review and are scheduled to be modified by the end of March, with exact implementation dates and scope of modifications to be determined later. Interestingly, all of the content that is set to be hidden or is currently under review coincides with the content which was announced for redesign/revision in one of NEOWIZ’s previous developer notes (a decision which ended up being scrapped after intense backlash from fans).
In a follow-up notice to the controversial developer note, Jun-hee Lee, project director of BrownDust2 explained that, instead of making revisions across the whole game, the developers’ goal will be to provide country-specific services without modifying content. So, if maintaining service without any changes becomes impossible due to certain regional or platform regulations, the company’s policy would be to “apply country-specific restrictions, suspend service, or provide an adapted build as needed,” Lee wrote. Another thing mentioned in the notice was that NEOWIZ had been in discussions with regulatory bodies of a “specific country” regarding the problematic content. While the developers gave no further explanation or any specific details, it seems like Germany is going to be the first region BrownDust2 will roll out content adjustments for.
Though for a slightly different reason, NEOWIZ are currently also in discussions with Vietnamese regulatory bodies due to the game disappearing from the country’s Google Play Store. While Vietnam didn’t find any “problematic content” in the game, its new regulations require developers to establish a partnership with a local company, or setting up a local legal entity in Vietnam in order to keep providing game services in the country.
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