Japanese video games ratings board Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) had to suspend its business last month due to stay-at-home orders by the Japanese government. At the time, the organization stated that the suspension would be in effect till May 6, and recently, they posted an update on their website stating that they will be resuming business once again starting May 7, two days from now.

CERO has stated in its update that it will be limiting business hours to avoid commuting during peak traffic hours, while they also state that they’ve taken measures to ensure that they can effectively conduct their work from home should they need to.

Certifications from rating agencies is an important part of the process for every game before it sees a release, and a complete suspension of activities by CERO would have affected video game releases in Japan. Developers will no doubt be relieved to hear that the organization is ready to resume its work.

Following CERO’s announcement of suspension of business last month, European ratings board PEGI and North America’s ESRB talked about how, due to “a good deal of advanced planning” and being able to do remote work effectively, they had not suffered any issues with their work. Read more on that through here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on all corners of the world, and the video games industry is no different. With the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, recently having declared a state of emergency in Tokyo in response to the situation, Japanese video games rating board Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (or CERO) has announced a complete suspension of services for a month.

CERO states that its work cannot be conducted remotely, and as such, all of its work and activities will be suspended from April 8 to May 6, and that an announcement of resumption of services will be made on its website when the time comes. This mean, of course, that reviewing of games for certifications will not be conducted during this time, and even those titles that are currently under review will have to be put on hold.

The implications of this are worth noting, because certifications are a crucial part of any game’s release process. With certifications being put on hold, we should expect similar delays to multiple games, at least in the region of Japan.