Dev says Christmas horror game is “too crazy” for Xbox and Switch
A developer has claimed on Twitter that their game is “too crazy” for Microsoft and Nintendo after both companies reportedly refused to allow the Christmas horror title to be published on their platforms.
04th Nov 2023 21:28
Images via Puppet Combo
Dev says Christmas horror game is “too crazy” for Xbox and Switch
A developer has claimed on Twitter that their game is “too crazy” for Microsoft and Nintendo after both companies reportedly refused to allow the Christmas horror title to be published on their platforms.
04th Nov 2023 21:28
Images via Puppet Combo
A developer has claimed on Twitter that their game is “too crazy” for Microsoft and Nintendo after both companies reportedly refused to allow the Christmas horror title to be published on their platforms.
This is not the first time that the developer has been unable to publish their games on Microsoft consoles.
A Christmas horror game is reportedly too much for Nintendo and Microsoft
Horror game developer, Puppet Combo, has shared that its upcoming game, Christmas Massacre, will be coming to Playstation on 17 November.
The developer specialises in PS1-style horror, and Christmas Massacre follows this convention, as a blocky Santa Claus goes on a rampage to slaughter as many people as possible.
The Christmas slasher was originally released on Steam in 2021, and is finally making its way to console, though many players were disappointed to find out that it would only be releasing for the Playstation.
In comments on the announcement tweet, when asked whether the game would be coming to Xbox or Switch, Puppet Combo replied that it was “too crazy” for each console.
The developer further clarified that it “tries to get every game on Xbox and they say no” and that it “blew lots of money on a Switch port we can't release.”
This is not the first game that Puppet Combo has not been able to release on Xbox, as one of its previous games, Nun Massacre, was also denied in 2022.
However, previous Puppet Combo games, including the popular game Murder House, have been popular on both Nintendo Switch and Xbox in the past.
There have been mixed reactions to the game not being allowed on the consoles
There have been mixed reactions to Christmas Massacre not being released on Xbox or Nintendo Switch, both from fans of Puppet Combo's slasher-inspired titles and people who have not encountered them before.
In a Reddit thread started by user NYstate, a lively discussion regarding whether or not it was right to censor games on consoles took place, with plenty of arguments for each side of the debate.
One Reddit user said: "If you actually look at footage of both of these two games you would quickly see why Christmas Massacre was shot down and Bloodwash was not.
"I don't know what crack Sony is smoking but I would not be surprised if Christmas Massacre gets removed quickly."
"There are far worse games like GTA or Manhunt on Xbox."
The majority of people who think that the game should not be on consoles have taken issue with the trailer footage showing Larry, the Santa Claus character, massacring people in a college setting with a flamethrower and seemingly killing children.
Others have pointed out that this is no different to games like GTA in which players are the antagonist.
"I've played Xmas Massacre all the way through on PC and don't remember anything objectionable in it," said one Reddit user, who later clarified that they do not think the murder of innocent npc's such as children and nuns is objectionable when it is done in an arcade-y way with PS1-style graphics.
No official reason has been given by Microsoft, Nintendo or Puppet Combo for the games not coming to consoles other than Playstation.
Microsoft and Nintendo have both been contacted for comment.
About The Author
Megan Cooke
Megan is GGRecon's Evening & Weekend News Writer. She has an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and is working towards finishing her masters in Journalism. When she isn’t writing about games she can be found reading romance novels or playing cosy games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, APICO, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.
