“Banned” PlayStation Plus Game Unavailable for Some Subscribers

Some PlayStation Plus subscribers have missed out on one of October’s free PS Plus games after its banning. For the month of October, PS Plus subscribers — or at least most PS Plus subscribers — on PS4 and PS5 are getting the following three games for free: Dead Space, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, and WWE 2K24. For the entire month of October these games are completely free to download, no matter what tier of PlayStation Plus a subscriber has. The offer is available via PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra, and PS Plus Premium. Some subscribers won’t be able to download the highlight of this month though, Dead Space. 

While Doki Doki Literature Club Plus was once a viral hit and while the WWE 2K series is fairly popular, there is no denying for most the marquee PS Plus game this month is Dead Space. The problem with Dead Space is that it has some fairly over-the-top violent content, complete with some very realistic, gore-fueled dismemberment. This isn’t a problem in the United States, or at least it hasn’t been for a while. Violent content is still a problem in Japan though.

As you may know, the remake of Dead Space was prevented from releasing in Japan due to its violent content. As a result, PS Plus subscribers on PS4 and PS5 in Japan have not received Dead Space for the month of October. Rather, they have received Utawarerumono: Lullaby to the Fallen, a fairly substantial downgrade. 

This isn’t the first time certain parts of the world — including Japan — have received a different PS Plus offer due to this issue and various other issues. And typically when it happens, the negatively impacted region receives a substantially less interesting game, which is exactly what has happened here. What makes this incident sting a little more is the replacement game — Utawarerumono: Lullaby to the Fallen — is PS4 only, unlike the game it has replaced. 

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