When Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 was announced in 2011, it was due to feature limb dismemberment; a feature that would offer players the opportunity to blast off limbs with a well-placed shot from "large calibre guns and explosions".

There were even screenshots of the feature in action (pictured above), and it was referenced in the original press release, included as part of the documentation sent to reviewers earlier this month.

But in June last year, publisher City Interactive announced that it had removed the feature, telling Joystiq that its removal was to ensure the game wouldn't be banned in Germany, where censorship laws restrict the sale of particularly violent products.

At the same time, however, City told the site that it intended to reimplement the feature via free DLC at the game's launch, allowing the game to go on sale in Germany, while letting other territories sever some limbs.

But that's no longer the case.

"I can confirm that CI Games are no longer going to be releasing the dismemberment DLC," a City Interactive representative told VideoGamer.com.

At the time of publishing, City Interactive hadn't provided reasons for the DLC's permanent cancellation. We've requested additional information, and will update the story if we hear back.

So did the feature ever really exist? And why didn't City clarify the situation before release? Heck, it had long enough to do so. While there's no evidence to suggest that City intentionally misled its customers, an early gameplay video released last year does appear to hint at the feature's possible development.

Take a look around the 7:03 mark in the video below to show an enemy walking along a pier without any arms or legs. A rendering glitch, or a dodgy side-effect of a buggy dismemberment feature? Given the circumstances, it could well be the latter.