It’s been a hot minute since we had news of a big name title having an outright refusal of classification in Australia, but turns out that IllFonic’s Halloween: The Game may be due for the big red rubber stamp of NOPE – courtesy of the Australian Classifications Board.
The game is due to launch on September 8 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Aussie players have been prodding the team behind the game as to why they couldn’t find the title on the usual Australian platform or retailers. The reply actually came via the Halloween: The Game Twitter account, where some reasoning has been offered – and it isn’t for any sexy, murderous reason:
Without truncation, the full explanation is as follows:
Despite every effort on our part, the Australian Classifications Board has denied “Halloween: The Game” a rating. The denial was not based on the presence of the iconic slasher, Michael Myers, or the outstanding kills that can be performed in the game, but rather the presence of a controlled substance. Unfortunately, to our disappointment (and certainly yours) this means that we cannot sell the physical or digital product in both Australia and New Zealand
Yup, you read that right. The game may be due for the banhammer because of the presence of weed. The ol’ whacky tobaccy is not appreciated by the Australian Classifications Board, especially considering that the appearance of it within the game was as a player-used power up. It’s worth noting that this statement is provided entirely from the Halloween team, rather than an actual listing from the Australian Classification Board where it instead lists “Halloween: Pre-Order Content” as the problematic stuff.
Plenty of overtly violent games have had the plug pulled in the past – I personally remember the ban on Rebellion’s Aliens Vs Predator all the way back in 2009. Hilariously that was later overturned when they made a pretty spectacular argument that fantastical beasts from the far corners of space are quite fictional in nature, but I doubt that IllFonic can make that case for the devil’s lettuce. If nothing is done prior to release, the game could miss Australia entirely – joining the ranks of other games refused classification due to drugs such as Sludge Life, Saints Row IV and Narc. They could feasibly rename the substance to something less obvious (as done with Fallout 3’s reference to Morphine becoming ‘Med-X’) but really it comes down to whether the crew behind the game can be bothered. As bummed as I would be to miss out on Michael Myer’s digital rampage, I can also relate to just how fucking stupid our classification board can be at times.
We want to hear from you. Has this news jumpscared you? Will you be chasing down Halloween: The Game? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
