In a statement to VideoGamer Sony has confirmed that the European version of Beyond: Two Souls was edited to ensure the game received a 16 age rating from PEGI.
"We can confirm that three minor aesthetic changes were made to the PAL version of Beyond: Two Souls," Sony announced. "These changes are purely cosmetic and do not affect gameplay or the overall story. The modifications were made in order to meet the requirements of regional ratings boards in the PAL region, and with the full support of the development team who do not feel that the title has been compromised in any way."
This comes after Sony's Ross Alexander wrote on the PlayStation Blog:
"There are only two amends between the EU and US versions of the game, amounting to about 5-10 seconds of gameplay that’s not been removed, just edited slightly to be in line with a PEGI 16 rating.
"For Beyond we wanted to make the game available to as many people as possible, hence applying for a PEGI 16 rating. The 5-10 seconds I mention above would have upped our rating to a PEGI 18, so it made perfect sense to make these two VERY minimal changes to get our planned 16 rating.
"I can assure you that this does not affect the game’s story at all, and that if you didn’t know these scenes had been amended, you wouldn’t even notice. Hope the above helps to allay your concern."
Product manager Fred Dutton added "The US and EU versions are the same. If there are any minor regional changes, they will not affect game length or story."
Beyond: Two Souls is set for release exclusively on PS3 on October 8th in North America and on October 11th in Europe. Quantic Dream's game isn't the only Sony title to be slightly different in each region – The Last of Us' multiplayer was also censored in Europe.