Hanging zombie banned from Dead Island logo

Zombie game Dead Island came out of the blue last month with a trailer that set Facebook newsfeeds alight.

Details of the title and its no-doubt gory contents are still thin on the ground, but the game’s logo has already succumbed to the censors.

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has ordered that the North American version of Dead Island cannot use the hanging corpse that featured in the original logo (top) on the front of its box. Instead, the new logo (below) will feature a cuddly zombie walking on the ground, and very much alive (but also dead).

A rep from developer Deep Silver confirmed the change to IGN, though pointed out that the hanging zombie will appear in-game. The ESRB explained this apparent contradiction thus:

“We never censor or dictate in any way what type of content can be included within a game. However, a game’s marketing materials are seen by an audience that is much broader than that which actually purchases the game itself, so we enforce industry-adopted guidelines as to what is suitable for inclusion in these materials.”

See also: Dead Island‘s flesh-chompingly atmospheric debut trailer

[Via IGN]