Yakuza 6 PS4 demo contained the full game

Game demos are a touchy subject in the industry. While trialware is generally frowned upon, locked copies bring their set of problems as Sega just recently found out the hard way. Less than a day after putting out the PS4 demo for the upcoming Yakuza 6: The Song of Life game, the publisher yanked it out abruptly. The reason? The North American version of demo apparently contained the full game and some eager players were able to actually able to bypass the demo's restrictions.

The nearly 37 GB download for what is supposedly just a demo should have raised flags already. Considering trends these days, that should indeed already contain at least a major portion of the game's content. And apparently, that was the case indeed.

Supposedly, the Yakuza 6 demo was the full game but almost everything was locked. Only chapter 1 and some trophies were left available for players to whet their appetites. The demo was designed so that whatever progress or achievements you've made during the demo could be carried over to the full game when it gets unlocked at launch.

Somewhere along the way, however, it seems that someone may have forgotten to actually lock the door. Some players, through means yet unknown, were supposedly able to go beyond the restrictions and play more of the game. Naturally, Sega was not amused.

We apologize, but have had to remove the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life demo from the PlayStation Store. We are as upset as you are, and had hoped to have this demo available for everyone today. We discovered that some were able to use the demo to unlock the full game. 1/2

— SEGA (@SEGA) February 27, 2018

The publisher pulled out the demo, much to the annoyance of those who haven't yet downloaded the sizable payload. Curiously, it seems that only the North American demo was bugged. Demos in other regions have remained online and remained properly restricted. The game launches in April.