Did you know there are two different versions of CS:GO? There’s the normal Steam version you’ve probably played, and the version intended for the Chinese market released by Perfect World in 2017.
The Perfect World version was made to meet the Chinese government’s formal and informal regulations for content in the country. In particular, Chinese versions of western games are quick to censor skulls, gore, excessive violence and political iconography and views.
While there’s no actual written rule that strictly bans skulls and bones, developers often self censor aggressively to avoid having their games and cosmetics rejected by the Chinese National Press and Publication Administration.
Despite the developer’s actual intentions, it comes down to interpretation as skulls, bones and even blood could be tied to a religious organization or cult in China. For that, it’s better to be safe than sorry which sees gaming companies censoring themselves or part of their games including Valve.
For that reason, a large number of skins in the Perfect World version are censored in interesting and unique ways, which he have demonstrated below. Whether these changes end up making the skin better than the normal version is up for you to decide.
Pistols
Five-SeveN | Scrawl
An example of a skull being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldGlock-18 | Nuclear Garden
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldP250 | Cartel
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldP250 | Contamination
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldP250 | Muertos
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldR8 Revolver | Crazy 8
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldR8 Revolver | Skull Crusher
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldTec-9 | Toxic
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldUSP-S | Cortex
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldUSP-S | Kill Confirmed
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldSMGs
MAC-10 | Curse
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldMAC-10 | Nuclear Garden
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldMAC-10 | Propaganda
A unique example of Perfect World censoring Russian-language text on the skin due to the potential connection to the Soviet Union. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldP90 | Shallow Grave
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldP90 | Grim
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldMP7 | Cirrus
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldMP7 | Skulls
Aptly Named. An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldUMP-45 | Primal Saber
Rare example of an animal skill being censored. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldUMP-45 | Bone Pile
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldRifles
AK-47 | Cartel
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldAWP | Acheron
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldAWP | Exoskeleton
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldAWP | Worm God
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldFAMAS | Macabre
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldFAMAS | Styx
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldGALIL AR | Chatterbox
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldM4A4 | Desolate Space
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldM4A4 | Hellfire
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldSG 553 | Bleached
Another rare example of animal skulls being censored. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldSG 553 | Heavy Metal
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldHeavy
Nova | Rising Skull
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldSawed-Off | Apocalypto
An example of gore and bones being toned down. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldSawed-Off | Yorick
Alas poor Yorick, what have they done to you? Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldXM1014 | Bone Machine
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldXM1014 | XOXO
An example of skulls being removed. Credit: Valve/Perfect WorldThe Perfect World version provides a special look to some skins while destroying the uniqueness of others like the R8 Revolver Skull Crusher. The censorship in China goes beyond skins, even map textures with Arabic texts are removed including any politically related symbols.
Now that you’ve seen both versions, Which one is your favorite? Tweet at us @blix_gg
