Valor Mortis and Tenebris Somnia Remain Unreleased on PS5 and Switch in Japan
IARC 18+ sells on Xbox in Japan, but Sony and Nintendo domestic stores still require CERO, so indie releases can clear one rating system and stall on another.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
Valor Mortis launched overseas on PS5 on October 13, and Tenebris Somnia on PS5 and Switch on October 16, but neither is available in Japan as of October 19. The official Valor Mortis X account said the Japanese rating review is unfinished and the game cannot be bought on PlayStation there yet. Tenebris Somnia still needs a CERO rating for its planned Happinet packaged release. Both are sold in Japan on Xbox with an IARC 18+ rating.
The gap between the two rating systems is the whole story. IARC covers the Xbox versions of both titles in Japan at 18+, and those are on sale. PlayStation and Switch also use IARC for some downloadable software, but an IARC 18+ label is not accepted for domestic store release, so a CERO rating is required.
There is precedent for what happens when that fails. Gears of War: Reloaded lost its Japanese PS5 release after CERO could not be obtained, mainly over blood and graphic violence, while the Xbox Series X|S and PC versions shipped in Japan. Halloween: The Game canceled its domestic PS5 release for the same reason. Developer IllFonic said changing the expressions to meet the standards would damage the film's world and the experience players expect.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.