The upcoming Bethesda RPG,Starfield, has received an age rating for mature content and themes. The rating for theMicrosoft exclusiveStarfieldcomes from Australia’s Classification Board, which is notoriously strict on content in video games.
Bethesda has a history with the ACB; in 2008,Fallout 3was refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, which made it illegal to distribute or purchase the game in the country. In order for the game to be reclassified, the content that had caused issue in the Australian version of the game had to be removed by Bethesda and resubmitted to the Australian Classification Board. The main issue was the use of drugs in the game, with stand-in drugs such as Jet and Psycho mimicking real world drugs. The content was not removed entirely from the revised version of the game, but the animations of drug use were removed. While not explicitly condoned by Bethesda, drugs continue to feature in their open world games,Skyrimeven lets players sell drugs to orphans.
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Similarly,Starfieldhas received its restricted age rating from the ACB with regard to “interactive drug use." The rating recommends thatStarfieldshould only be sold to players over 18 years old, and breaks down its content into six categories: themes, violence, language, drug use, nudity, and sex. According to the report,Starfieldhas a higher rate of violence and drug use when compared to the other categories. The rating considers the “impact” of these categories; sex is registered as “none,” nudity is “very mild,” themes and language are registered as having “moderate impact,” violence has a “strong impact,” while drug use is rated “high impact” and is marked by the restricted icon.
It is interesting to note that in 2008, the inclusion of an animation for drug use inFallout 3was enough to have the game on the chopping block. Although gamers would be hard pressed to say that the drug use inFalloutwas a “high impact” on the experience, especially when in contrast to nuclear warfare. With this in mind, ifStarfieldincludes animations for drug use, it could be a sign of global desensitization. Alternatively, the rating could simply reflect the notoriously strict Australian guidelines. Considering the later-than-expectedrelease date forStarfield, it is good to see that the game will not need to be delayed or edited further for censorship.
When considering thatFalloutwas an acquired franchise, and the forgottenIRHA Drag Racingseries was based on a real-world sport,Starfieldwill be Bethesda Game Studios’ only original IP other thanThe Elder Scrollssince 2002. That is quite a lot of pressure on the new IP, so it’s good news thatplaytesters are reportedly having a lot of fun withStarfield, and now that the title has a rating from the ACB - albeit a high one - it seems as thoughStarfieldis set for smooth sailing.
Starfieldlaunches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
