Nintendoes what Valve doesn't: Game banned from Steam will launch on Switch

Zoom / Nothing weird here. No sir. https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/chaos-head-noah-switch/

Japanese publisher Spike Chunsoft has announced that the first official English translation of the visual novel Chaos; Head Noah will not be available on Steam as planned "due to changes required by Steam's guidelines for game content." But while the game is apparently too risky for Steam, the family-friendly folks at Nintendo apparently have no problem with a Switch version that Spike Chunsoft says will still launch in the US on October 7 as planned. .

"Spike Chunsoft, Inc. believes that these changes [required by Steam guidelines] would not allow the game to be released to its standards," the publisher said in its announcement. "The company plans to offer the title through alternate storefronts, and when the details are decided, they will make another official announcement. Until then, your patience and understanding is appreciated."

Enlarge / Nintendo says this scene is appropriate for their store page, so we think your readers can handle it. nintendo

Chaos; Head Noah was originally listed for the Steam presale in April, but that page was taken down in August, according to tracking site SteamDB. At the time, this raised some concerns about the eventual fate of the Steam version, which Spike Chunsoft finally confirmed today.

Valve's apparent push for content restrictions comes even though the extremely similarly themed sequel Chaos;Child has been available in English on Steam since 2019 (following its initial 2014 release in Japan on Xbox One). The PS4 English version of Chaos;Child received an M rating for Mature from the ESRB, which depicts in-game scenes of strangulation, torture, and "exposed brains" alongside sexual content as "two female characters moaning off-screen while discussing each other's breasts."

How bad is that?

Chaos;Head Noah is an enhanced port of Chaos;Head, the game that launched the cult Science Adventure visual novel series (which also includes Steins;Gate and its sequels). The game follows a series of murders and suicides in Tokyo's Shibuya district and allows players to alter story progression by engaging in various positive or negative "illusions". Some of these rants can get extremely bloody and/or suggest (but not directly show) impending sexual violence.

"I don't think it's much worse than anything already in Steam's library," said PQube Games' localization manager...