The PlayStation 4 version of Beyond: Two Souls appears to have been altered so its background cast of Saudi characters have lighter skin tones than in the game's original PS3 release.

The characters appear in the Beyond's third chapter, The Embassy, which takes place in Saudi Arabia.

Beyond's main character Jodie Holmes, played by Hollywood actress Ellen Page, acts as a CIA agent in the level.

Her mission is to infiltrate a glamorous embassy gathering to steal documents from a Sheik.

Images comparing Beyond's PS3 original to its new PS4 release show the Sheik's staff of guards - one of which Jodie can possess and control - have been altered in appearance. Some of the party's guests have been changed, too.

Specifically, the game's PS4 version depicts these characters with a lighter skin tone.

Click images to enlarge.

One guard in particular - shown above - has the same face, albeit with lighter eyes too.

Strangely, the Sheikh himself remains unchanged. He is portrayed as a portly man in traditional Saudi attire with a darker skin tone similar to that of his guards in the game's PS3 original.

A couple of other party guests have new models, likely updated to the PS4 edition's higher quality visuals. But while clothing and hairstyle has been tweaked, all of the darker skinned character models - whether guards or guests - have consistently become lighter in skin tone.

Four Saudi characters are depicted in the screenshot below. Two are guards, two are guests. Each model now has paler skin on PS4.

The scene's overall lighting has not changed dramatically.

These images come from Digital Foundry's comparison video of the two versions. See the scene in motion below.

Eurogamer has contacted Sony for comment on the changes.