Epic has revealed that Gears of War 2 will not be available in certain territories, according to reports.

An Epic company spokesperson has told Edge: "We can confirm that Gears of War 2 will not be available in Germany or Japan indefinitely."

Speculation has been rife that the sequel to the 2006 hit title would not make it through Germany's notoriously strict videogames censorship - the original Gears of War was not available in Germany either - but the news that it will be sold in Japan comes as something of a surprise.

Gears of War was one of the first western games to make a significant mark on the Japanese markets and, according to the Edge, sold 33,212 copies in Japan in its first week and entered the software charts at number seven.

Gears of War 2 is set for a November 7 release on Xbox 360.