When Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 was banned in the UK, many gamers were left wondering what, exactly, does "casual sadism" entail? That question remained unanswered when the Entertainment Software Rating Board, known to be more lax with its permissiveness of violence, followed in the BBFC's footsteps by giving Manhunt 2 an AO for Adult Only rating, which effectively banned the game due to Sony's and Nintendo's restrictions on third-party content for their consoles.

　　In August, Take-Two said that it would be toning down the controversial content in Manhunt 2 to secure a less restrictive rating, which it successfully achieved in the US, though not in the UK. Gamers with a morbid streak who wanted to play the original game seemed to be permanently out of luck. However, that changed in September when an early-in-development PlayStation 2 version of the game was leaked to the Internet by a group going under the guise of Team Slonik, as first reported by fan site Project Manhunt.

　　Game Politics is reporting today that Take-Two has uncovered the source of the leak as being a member of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. In a statement, the publisher said, "Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that a former employee of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has acknowledged his responsibility for the unauthorized online distribution of an unrated play-test version of Manhunt 2 submitted for the European PAL PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system."

　　The "modified" Manhunt 2 will arrive on North American retail shelves for the PS2, PSP, and Wii in time for Halloween, on October 31.