Reverse censorship!!!
Germany banned Fallout 3 in 2009 over its violent content (it also missed India and, briefly, was under fire in Australia). Eventually a censored version was offered for German players, but the original, uncensored version is no longer banned in the country.
Bethesda “initiated a difficult and rarely-successful trial,” according to IGN Germany, with the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Minors (BPJM) to delist Fallout 3.
“In the case of Fallout 3, the request for delisting was granted even though only seven years passed since the game was banned,” a BPJM member said in a statement. “The Big Council decided at its meeting on 4 February that Fallout 3 will be removed from the list because its content is no longer classified as harmful to minors from today’s perspective.”
The ban was set to expire in three years anyways. Why would Bethesda go through the time-consuming, costly legal trouble to get it repealed? Well, Fallout 4 was uncut in Germany (and plastered all over the country at gamescom ahead of its release) and probably made a lot of money. Fallout 3 is already available via Xbox One backward compatibility, but it could also see a full, Dishonored-style console re-release.
Gibt es Pläne für Fallout 3 HD? [IGN Germany]
