In more The Last of Us news today, it turns out that the game’s multiplayer mode is partly censored in Europe due to stringent censorship laws in PAL territories such as Germany and Australia. Naughty Dog have confirmed that the European version of the game has less gore than the North American version, while dismemberment has been removed entirely.
American players caught in the explosion of a nail bomb will find their limbs flying off but gamers in Europe remain in one piece. Rather strangely the single player game is not censored and enemies can be dismembered in both versions of the game.
Despite more liberal censorship rules in countries like the UK and France, the multiplayer experience is the same for everyone. Since PAL countries play multiplayer together as a joint community, the settings have been kept the same across the board.
A reply posted on the Naughty Dog forums confirm the censorship:
“The gore and violence ratings are subject to local regulatory boards in various countries, so the game must be slightly changed in order to accomodate those choices.”