Manhunt 2 Lands a Mature Rating

Rockstar's gory horror title has been back to the ESRB and returned with an M stamp of approval, triggering its US release.

It’s finally settled. After all the controversy surrounding Rockstar’s ultra-violent Manhunt 2, including the promise of an outright ban in the UK and the kiss-of-death "Adults Only” rating in the US, a toned-down version of the game has received the sales-friendly “Mature” rating instead.

Take-Two Interactive, the game’s publisher, announced the new rating on Friday but omitted any details of what was removed from the game to secure the new rating. Even after modification, the game will come with Entertainment Software Rating Board content descriptors including blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content and use of drugs.

“Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we’re glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience,” said Rockstar founder Sam Houser, in a statement. Now that its publisher sees the game as fit for release, it will hit store shelves on October 31 for PlayStation 2, PSP and Wii in North America.