Anime boob game Omega Labyrinth has its Western release cancelled in accordance with Sony's wishes
It was always a little bit surprising that Omega Labyrinth Z was ever coming West - and now it's not.
Publisher PQube, specialists in bringing niche Japanese games West, made the rather bold decision to bring breast-focused dungeon crawling RPG Omega Labyrinth West last year. After trouble with the UK and Australian ratings authorities it appears the game has proved a bridge too far - and a statement from PQube says that the release has now been cancelled "to comply with the wishes of the platform holder" - that's Sony, as the game was set to release on PS4 and PS Vita.
"PQube strives to release Japanese content for its fans as close to the source material as possible," the publisher said in a statement issued through Twitter.
"In the case of Omega Labyrinth Z, while PQube has worked with all relevant age rating bodies in their respective territories, PQube must respectfully comply with the wishes of the platform holder and have therefore withdrawn any future plans for Omega Labyrinth Z's European and North American release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita."
The game is a big ask for a Western release, mind, thus the surprise that it was ever on the cards. It features your typical young-looking anime schoolgirl types but with an outright focus on their breasts - they're even in the game's logo. I mean, seriously - this is how they announced the game. Warning - the trailer is distinctly not safe for work:
The English localization appears to be close to done - Omega Labyrinth Z was originally scheduled for an Early 2018 launch before being refused classification for release in the UK and Australia, effectively banning them in those countries. This cancellation now extends that to the rest of Europe, the USA and Canada.
Screenshots released alongside the announcement of the game's cancellation show one character being chastised for wearing a short skirt and another being told to stroke something between her breasts. The story of the game is literally about the protagonist searching for a 'Holy Grail' that'll boost her chest size. So, yeah - that's what it was. While it seems fairly unprecedented for Sony to step in and request a publisher cancel a release, it's easy to see how it came out.
The actual game part is a fairly standard-issue roguelike dungeon crawler RPG, but the visual novel segments were both its unique selling point and the cause of its troubles. If Western users want to play it, they'll now have to import.