User:Aeyeu/sandbox

Below is a list and summary of video games that have been Refused Classification (banned) within Australia.

Under Australian law, all media intended for retail display, such as films, must be reviewed by the Australian Classification Board (ACB, formerly, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) until its dissolution in 2006.) A work deemed too inappropriate by the ACB may be Refused Classification (RC), effectively banning it from being sold at retail, and placing the work on the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service list of prohibited items. Any copies of such works found at the border will be seized,^[1] and the recipient, depending on the number of copies being imported, may receive up to A$110,000 in fines.^[2]

Originally, video games within Australia were only rated up to the MA15+ rating. At the time, the R18+ classification rating could only be given to films, but a video game with content deemed fitting for the R18+ rating would be classified as "Refused Classification" due to an appropriate classification not being available for the medium.

In July and August 2011, all Australian state Attorneys-General except the New South Wales state Attorney-General agreed to instate an R18+ rating for video games, which would be available by the end of 2011.^[3] Many games previously Refused Classification would now fit into the R18+ rating and, if the publisher chose to pay the reclassification fee, would theoretically be able to sell their game in Australia. The date was later changed to allow the rating to be introduced at the beginning of 2013.^[4]

With the R18+ rating in place, it is expected fewer video games will be given the Refused Classification rating. Games may still be Refused Classification if deemed to contain material unsuitable for the R18+ classification, such as depictions of sexual violence, the promotion of illegal drug use, drug use that is related to incentives and rewards, and interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years of age. More specifically, games which may be Refused Classification include:

• Detailed instruction or promotion in matters of crime or violence.
• Depictions of rape.
• The promotion or provision of instruction in paedophile activity.
• Descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse or any other exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.
• Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
  • (i) violence with a very high degree of impact or which are excessively frequent, prolonged, or detailed;
  • (ii) cruelty or real violence which are very detailed or which have an extremely high degree of impact;
  • (iii) sexual violence;
• Depictions of practices such as bestiality.
• Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of:
  • (i) activity accompanied by fetishes or practices that are offensive or abhorrent;
  • (ii) incest fantasies or other fantasies that are offensive or abhorrent;

Classification is compulsory, and games Refused Classification by the ACB are banned for sale, hire or public exhibition, carrying a maximum fine of $275,000 and/or 10 years in jail. It is, however, legal to possess RC games (except in Western Australia and prescribed areas of the Northern Territory).

The list depicted below is of games that are either still banned, or were initially banned but have been edited exclusively for Australia. Some of these games were banned before the introduction of the R18+ classification rating; if some of these games were to be re-classified today, they would likely receive the R18+ rating. The second list is of games that have been eventually released unedited, rating appealed, or the worldwide edition later being released uncut and being identical to other countries.

Due to the licensing of the International Age Rating Coalition software for developers to rate their own game(s), several hundred games have been banned from various app stores and due to said games being relatively minor they will not be listed here.^[5]

The list below includes games where the worldwide edition has been banned for sale in Australia because either the game has been Refused Classification or a classification has been revoked. Games in this list with a current classification are available for purchase in a censored or altered form.

Name	Original Date of Certification[6]	Reason	Original Rating	Present Rating
Postal 4: No Regerts (2022)	21 March 2023	Banned through IARC for high-impact gratuitous violence.[7]
Oshi No Love Yori Koi No Love + Love or Die (2022)	2022-05-06	Banned through IARC for interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.[8]
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition (2022)	2022-05-04	Banned through IARC for interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.[9]
Deathsmiles I & II (2007)	2022-02-28	Banned for interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.[10] Originally released in 2007, and following an upcoming special edition release edition on the Nintendo Switch console, the game was initially classified as M with Sexualised Imagery as the content warning.[11]This rating was changed a day later to M with the Horror Themes content warning,[12] and within that same day changed to PG with the Sexualised Imagery, Mild Nudity and Scary Scenes content warnings.[13]
Ultreïa (2022)	2021-12-24	Banned through IARC for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[14]
Of Bird and Cage (2022)	2021-12-03	Banned through IARC for the interactive use of illegal or recreational drugs.[15]
Mary Skelter: Finale (2021)	2021-06-16	Banned for interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, under the age of 18 years.[16]
A Place for the Unwilling (2019)	2021-01-25	Banned through IARC for interactive sexual activity involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years.[17]
Wasteland 3 (2020)	2020-02-26	Banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[18] A censored edition was later classified as R18+.[19]
Sludge Life (2020)	2020-01-23	Banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[20]

The list below includes games where the Australia edition is identical to that of other coutnries because either: the rating has successfully been appealed, the worldwide edition has later been released in Australia unedited ("uncut"), or the game has received a worldwide edit.

Name	Original Date of Certification[6]	Reason	Original Rating	Present Rating
Hell Pie (2022)	2022-05-04	Banned through IARC for interactive drug use. Following a review by the Australian Classification Review Board in August 2022, the games drug use was found to be justified by context, "the depiction of cannabis within the game, although interactive, is not detailed or realistic.", and was subsequently re-classified R18+.[21]
Rimworld (2018)	2022-02-28	Banned through IARC for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[22] Following a review by the Australian Classification Review Board in April 2022, its drug use was found to be justified by context, as "the game mechanic ultimately provides disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences such as overdose, addiction, and withdrawal", subsequently re-classified as R 18+.[23]
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (2021)	2021-03-19	Banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[24] Upon review by the Australian Review Board and insight from the developer ZA/UM, the Classification Board agreed that player performance showed negative impacts from depictions of drug use.[25][26]
The Medium (2020)	2020-07-06	Banned through IARC for references to sexual violence. Rating was later appealed and overturned.[27]
Katana Zero (2019)	2019-04-18	Banned through IARC for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[28] Rating was later appealed and overturned.[29]
DayZ (2018)	2019-06-04	Originally rated MA 15+ for Strong Violence and Online Interactivity,[30] was later banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[31] Rating was later appealed and overturned.[32]
We Happy Few (2018)	2018-05-21	Banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[33] Rating was later appealed and overturned.[34]
Outlast 2 (2017)	2017-03-15	Banned for implied sexual violence.[35]
Paranautical Activity (2016)	2016-01-05	Banned for drug use related to incentives and rewards.[36] Rating was later appealed and overturned.[37] On 25 April 2018 the rating was updated to MA15+.[38]
Hotline Miami (2012)	2013-05-07	Originally rated MA 15+ on 7 May 2013,[39] and later rated R18+ on 28 May 2015,[40] it was later banned through IARC for an implied sexual assault scene.[41] Rating was later appealed and overturned.[42]
The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut (2011)	2011-08-23	Original game release was rated MA 15+ on 5 December 2008,[43] extended cut version was banned for high impact bloody violence.[44] rating later appealed and overturned.[45]
' ()	YYYY-MM-DD	Banned for .[46]

• Australian Classification Board
• Australian Classification Review Board
• List of banned video games
• Censorship in Australia
• Video gaming in Australia

• Official website of the Australian Classification Board
• refused-classification.com, an exhaustive database of banned and censored media in Australia.

Video games Australia Video games banned in Australia Video games banned in Australia