Spike Chunsoft announced

that the Chaos;Head Noah Steam release, thought cancelled will proceed as planned on October 7, 2022. The game was initially rejected from the storefront due to conflicts with Steam’s guidelines. The game will be available as is, without any changes to the original content. Additionally, Spike Chunsoft thanked fans for their vocal support. Last week, Spike Chunsoft revealed that Chaos;Head Noah would not be able to release on Steam due to “guideline-required changes”. While it was unclear which guidelines Chaos;Head Noah violated, Spike Chunsoft stated that the required changes would not allow the game to be released to its standards. As such, the company was looking into releasing the game on alternative storefronts. The announcement led to outcry from fans on social media. Fans of visual novels and similar games (as well as some individuals connected to developers and publishers) have in recent years complained about perceived bias in Valve’s review process, with excessive scrutiny directed at games with an “anime” aesthetic or featuring school settings, or decisions and reasoning that seems dependent on the attitudes of individual reviewers at Valve rather than a clear set of guidelines.

We have exciting news about the Steam version of CHAOS;HEAD NOAH. Please see the full announcement on our website. https://t.co/eB4uQ00oIQ#ChaosHead #ChaosChild #SciADV pic.twitter.com/QGVlWRj06I

— Spike Chunsoft, Inc. (@SpikeChunsoft_e) October 7, 2022

Whatever the reasoning for the rejection, Valve has reportedly “re-examined” the game after its initial content review, and decided to reverse its decision. Furthermore, Valve stated that it has reviewed the process that led to the decision to reject Chaos;Head Noah in the first place, and has made changes to prevent such situations from happening again. To this, Spike Chunsoft expressed gratitude towards fans for their vocal support and commitment, adding that the decision was the result of “unwavering support” from fans. Chaos;Head Noah is available on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Andrew Kiya is a mixed Japanese staff writer, streamer, and activist. Born in Japan, and raised in both Japan and the United States, he is forever waiting for the next Ape Escape game.