Prior to its release, Bethesda’s upcoming open-world space-based RPG Starfield has a restricted age rating due to mature themes and content.
Starfield, a forthcoming Bethesda role-playing game, has been given an age rating for its mature themes and content. Australia’s Classification Board, which is well-known for its stringent guidelines regarding video game content, provided the rating for the Microsoft exclusive Starfield.
Bethesda has a set of experiences with the ACB; The Australian Classification Board refused to classify Fallout 3 in 2008, making it illegal to sell or distribute the game in the country. Bethesda had to remove the content that was causing problems in the Australian version of the game and resubmit it to the Australian Classification Board in order for the game to be reclassified.
The use of drugs in the game, with stand-in drugs like Jet and Psycho mimicking real-world drugs, was the main problem. The animations depicting drug use were removed from the revised version of the game, but not all of the content. Even though Bethesda does not explicitly condone drug use, open-world games like Skyrim allow players to sell drugs to orphans.
Likewise, Starfield has accepted its confined age rating from the ACB with respect to “intuitive medication use.” The rating categorizes Starfield’s content into six categories, recommending that players over the age of 18 should not purchase it: themes, language, violence, drug use, sex, and nudity When compared to the other categories, the rate of drug use and violence in Starfield is higher.
The rating takes into account the categories’ “impact”; Sex is listed as “none,” nudity is listed as “very mild,” themes and language are listed as having a “moderate impact,” violence is listed as having a “strong impact,” and drug use is listed as having a “high impact” and has the restricted icon.
It is interesting to note that Fallout 3 was pulled from release in 2008 due to the inclusion of a drug-related animation. However, when contrasted with nuclear warfare, gamers would be hard-pressed to claim that drug use in Fallout had a “high impact” on the experience. In light of this, on the off chance that Starfield incorporates movements for drug use, it very well may be an indication of worldwide desensitization.
On the other hand, the rating could essentially mirror the famously severe Australian rules. It is encouraging to learn that Starfield will not need to be further delayed or edited for censorship, given its later-than-expected release date.
Starfield will be Bethesda Game Studios’ only original IP since 2002, other than The Elder Scrolls, given that Fallout was an acquired franchise and the forgotten IRHA Drag Racing series was based on a real-world sport.
That puts a lot of pressure on the new IP, so it’s good that playtesters are having fun with Starfield. Now that the game has a high rating from the ACB, it seems like Starfield will go smoothly.
On September 6, Starfield will be available for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Australian Classification, via GamesRadar
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