Left 4 Dead 2 May Be Unbanned In Australia

In a meeting with the Australian press in Sydney, Gabe Newell announced just a few moments ago that Left 4 Dead 2, which has been refused classification and effectively banned in Australia may be seeing a release after all, as Electronic Arts and Valve have lodged another version of the game for rating, which has been censored for the Australian market. 

Newell was unable to comment on what the changes might be, but it's speculated that the dismemberment and decapitations featured in the sequel may be getting the cut. Valve has made it clear that they would like to see the unaltered version hit the market, and has appealed to the classifications board to reconsider their original submission. The Board's classification decision on the censored edition is expected to be announced later today.

“I thought Left 4 Dead 2 would get the same treatment as Left 4 Dead 1,” said Newell. “So I was a little surprised by the decision.

“We think Left 4 Dead 2 is a lot of fun. It’s a game for adults. But we’re aware that different countries have different restrictions, and we want to make the choices that make the game the most fun for that country.”

The results of the appeal will only be announced on October 22, and if it successful then Australian players will be treated to the full blown Left 4 Dead 2 experience rather than the watered-down, censored version.

Newell further went on to state that if the edited version is released, then the Australian version would receive an update if the appeal proves successful. This would consist of an automatic (and free) update for PC gamers, but there is no word on whether this will be possible on the 360 at this point in time.

Regardless, there seems to be little doubt in the publishers' minds that the toned down version will receive classification so it looks like gamers down under will be able to participate in the zombie apocalypse the second time around no matter what.

Update: Left 4 Dead 2 (censored edition) has successfully received classification from the Australian government as an MA 15+ title. Thanks Bethryn!