The controversy surrounding the game stems primarily from the graphic manner in which the player executes enemies. In 2007, former Rockstar employee Jeff Williams revealed that even the game's staff were somewhat uncomfortable about the level of violence; "there was almost a mutiny at the company over that game." Williams explained that the game "just made us all feel icky. It was all about the violence, and it was realistic violence. We all knew there was no way we could explain away that game. There was no way to rationalize it. We were crossing a line." The media was drawn into the debate. For example,
The Globe and Mail wrote "
Manhunt is a venal disconnect for the genre. There's no challenge, just assembly-line, ritualistic slaughter. It's less a video game and more a weapon of personal destruction. This is about stacking bodies. Perhaps the scariest fact of all:
Manhunt is so user-friendly that any sharp 12-year-old could navigate through the entire game in one sitting."
Murder of Stefan Pakeerah On July 28, 2004, the game was linked to the murder of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah by 17-year-old Warren Leblanc in
Leicestershire, England. Initial media reports claimed that police had found a copy of the game in Leblanc's bedroom. Giselle and Patrick Pakeerah, the victim's parents, claimed that the game had influenced LeBlanc and played a role in the murder. The
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA) offered sympathy to the Pakeerah family but rejected any connection between the game and the murder. ELSPA also noted that the game was rated
18 by the
British Board of Film Classification and was not intended for minors. Due to controversy, the game was removed from shelves by some vendors, including
Game and
Dixons. In response, Rockstar reiterated that it was intended for adults and denied any link to the murder. Media speculation of a potential ban on the game increased demand for it at physical and online retailers. Giselle Pakeerah stated her disappointment over the increased interest in the game. On July 30, 2004, American attorney
Jack Thompson, an advocate against violence in video games, claimed to have warned Rockstar prior to the game's release that it could inspire copycat killings. On August 2, 2004, it was reported that the Pakeerahs had hired Thompson to represent them in a £50 million
wrongful death claim against
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Rockstar Games. That day, the police officially denied any link between the game and the murder, citing drug-related robbery as the motive and revealing that the game had been found in Pakeerah's bedroom, not Leblanc's as originally reported. At the conclusion of the investigation, the police reaffirmed that they could not find sufficient evidence linking the game to the murder. The presiding judge placed sole responsibility with Leblanc after sentencing him to life. Rockstar's parent company
Take-Two Interactive issued a statement that "the Judge, defense, prosecution and Leicester police" in the case had refuted any connection to the game. Jack Thompson unsuccessfully attempted to have
Manhunt 2 banned, claiming that Take-Two had lied about the incident and that police were incorrect in asserting the game had belonged to Pakeerah.
Legal status In
New Zealand, the game was banned on December 11, 2003, with possession deemed an offence.
Bill Hastings, the Chief Censor, stated "it's a game where the only thing you do is kill everybody you see ... You have to at least acquiesce in these murders and possibly tolerate, or even move towards enjoying them, which is injurious to the public good." In 2023, the Office reconsidered
Manhunt and classified it R18. In Australia, the game was initially allowed under a MA15+ classification, but this decision was reversed by the
Australian Classification Board in September 2004, after an appeal by the
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. As a consequence, the game was effectively banned, mandating a recall of all copies still being sold in stores. Before its recall,
Manhunt had already sold 18,000 units in Australia. In Canada, following a meeting in Toronto on December 22, 2003, between Hastings and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services,
Manhunt became the first video game in Ontario to be classified as a film and was restricted to adults on February 3, 2004. Apart from Ontario, however,
Manhunt had little or no classification problems elsewhere in North America. The
British Columbia Film Classification Office reviewed the game after the controversy in Ontario and deemed the Mature rating by the
ESRB to be appropriate. In Germany, the
Amtsgericht in Munich confiscated the PlayStation 2 version of
Manhunt on July 19, 2004, for violation of
§ 131 StGB ("representation of violence"). According to the court, the game portrays the killing of humans as fun. They also said it glorified
vigilantism, which they considered harmful. All other versions got indexed.
Steam release crack protection issues To combat
piracy, the retail version contained two layers of
digital rights management (DRM): the
SecuROM system and several game-breaking mechanisms that are activated when SecuROM is missing. To ship the game to Steam without third party DRM, Rockstar Games re-released it with an existing crack by
Razor 1911. As this was uncovered in 2010, the company quickly released a new version of the retail release with only SecuROM removed. The proprietary measures were not addressed, leading to a broken version being sold on Steam. Prior to 2023, the crack protection mechanisms, such as gates and doors not working properly blocking progress through the game, were interpreted as issues with compatibility on newer operating systems. However, it was discovered the Steam release had crack protection measures active despite being an official release due to the incomplete removal of the DRM. ==Legacy==