Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth has finally landed on Windows (via Steam) in Japan, marking 11 years since its initial PlayStation Vita debut in the country and 7 years since it became available worldwide on PC. Bandai Namco surprised fans on August 1 by announcing the game, followed by the release of its sequel, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory, just four days later as part of the Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition.
This isn’t the first instance of Bandai Namco region-locking one of its titles domestically. The Steam versions of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot were also inaccessible for years before their region locks were eventually lifted. This approach has been mirrored by other major Japanese publishers, including Square Enix (with the original Final Fantasy VII), Capcom (with an online region lock for Resident Evil 5), and Bandai Namco.
Though no official explanation exists for this practice, some fans theorize it stems from manufacturers aiming to safeguard their distribution channels. Others suggest it results from domestic exclusivity agreements, where games are limited to certain platforms in Japan while being available on multiple platforms overseas. Fortunately, it appears that publishers are gradually shifting away from this trend, as several games have had their region locks removed or received new versions playable in Japan.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory are now available on PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows (Steam).
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