Rockstar released Manhunt 2 on 30 October in the US, on Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP, as a retail version for audience aged 17 and above, and shortly after hackers found a way to reactivate some adult scenes in the PSP and PS2 versions of the game.

This means the hackers found a way to overcome the special blurring filters activated at ESRB's request. In order to make an M-rated Manhunt 2, Rockstar had done multiple revised edits. Rockstar commented that hackers have altered one of these edits and produced an illegally modified version of the game. This illegal version can only be played on a hacked PlayStation Portable handheld system or Playstation 2.

Rockstar stated that all game material and especially these revised edits were submitted to and reviewed by the ERSB. Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick encouraged customers to enjoy the M version of Manhunt 2 as it was meant to be played, according to ESRB ratings. He also added: "We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games."

"Manhunt 2’s rating makes it unmistakable that the game is intended for an older audience. The unauthorized hacking into the code of this game doesn’t change that basic fact," said ESRB president Patricia Vance.

"Parents need to be vigilant about monitoring what their children are downloading on the Internet and ensure that they are not making unauthorized and oftentimes illegal modifications to software and hardware that remove the controls the industry has so diligently put in place for their own protection," she continued.

The ESRB also stated that the game’s publisher disclosed all pertinent content in the authorized Mature-rated version of Manhunt 2 now available in stores, and complied with their guidelines on full disclosure of content. Also, it appears that their investigation found that these modifications do not actually fully restore the product to the version that originally received an AO rating.