Criminal Girls 2 will not be available in Germany, it has been announced. This is due to the USK, Germany’s ratings board, refusing to approve the game.

There are a few nations out there that have a less than stellar relationship with video games. One of those nations, Germany, has a long history of censoring its releases.

There are big lists of games that were altered over the years – there’s even a thesis on the topic. In the past, German friends have even given me money to buy Steam games for them, in order to avoid the watered down German edition.

In light of all this, you likely won’t be surprised to hear that Criminal Girls 2 will not be available in Germany. The announcement was made today by NIS America, who noted that the German ratings board had refused classification. This means Criminal Girls 2 won’t be advertised or sold at retail within the country. See below for the official word.

Today we are disappointed to announce that the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK), Germany’s video game ratings board, has refused to provide a rating for Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors. This is an unfortunate blow to the game, and for fans of the series, and means that the title will not be advertised or sold at retail in Germany.

According to NISA, the USK cited “content severely harmful to minors” as reason to refuse the title. It’s unclear why such content would be harmful to minors; unless there’s a German tradition that forces children to play all new releases. Ratings were designed to prevent sales to minors, which brings into question the validity of the USK at all.

This piece of news comes after the game was also refused classification for Australia. This should be even less surprising, considering Australia’s track record for banning suggestive titles.

Criminal Girls 2 will still be released in other European areas, as well as the United States. The ESRB gave the game an “M” classification, while the European equivalent, PEGI, rated it a “16”.

Unfortunately for NISA, things aren’t looking great for Criminal Girls 2. The niche market—those who actually buy these games—are upset with recent reports of censorship, and with two markets now abstaining, it could be better.

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