Koei Tecmo’s 3D fighting game series Dead or Alive is undoubtedly well-known for its cast of voluptuous female characters (and to a lesser degree, its hunky male characters and sneaky ninjas). The series has even spawned three spinoff games in a separate series called Dead or Alive Xtreme, in which players play as the series’ female cast to participate in volleyball and other beach-related minigames. The latest third entry, however, won’t be making its way overseas to Western beaches. Team Ninja, the Koei Tecmo studio who develops the Dead or Alive series as well as the Ninja Gaiden series, announced on the game’s Facebook page yesterday that they have no plans to release Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 in the west, presumably out of concern for a public backlash. In response to a fan who asked if the game would be released in US and EU regions, Team Ninja responded:

We do not bring DOAX3 to the west and won’t have any plan change in the future. Thank you for asking.

They expanded upon this statement by saying:

Do you know many issues happening in video game industry with regard to how to treat female in video game industry? We do not want to talk those things here. But certainly we have gone through in last year or two to come to our decision. Thank you.

Koei Tecmo’s decision has understandably upset many fans of the series. But considering how contentious the topic of gender representation in video games has become in the past few years, Koei’s unwillingness to publish Xtreme 3 overseas may prove to be a sound decision from a corporate (and public relations) standpoint.

For fans who want their fair share of seaside frolic, though, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 will be region-free and will have English subtitles, meaning players can easily import the game and play it on non-Japanese consoles.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is set to release February 25, 2016.