Silent Hill f Banned in Australia

Konami's upcoming game, Silent Hill f, has encountered a hurdle in Australia, where it has been refused classification (RC). This rating means the game cannot be sold in Australia at this time. However, the RC rating was assigned by an automated tool from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), rather than by the actual members of the Australian Classification Board. Given past precedents, it's unlikely that this is the final verdict.

Konami does not handle its own game distribution in Australia; IGN has reached out to their third-party distributor for a statement.

The specific reasons for Silent Hill f's RC rating remain undisclosed. Since the introduction of an adults-only category for games in Australia (R18+) in January 2013, games are typically refused classification due to content involving sexual activity with a person who appears to be under 18, visual depictions of sexual violence, or linking incentives and rewards to drug use. A previous game in the series, Silent Hill: Homecoming, was initially refused classification in 2008 due to a high-impact torture scene. However, this was before the R18+ rating was established, which now allows for higher levels of violence. Silent Hill: Homecoming was eventually released in Australia with modified camera angles for the contentious scene, earning an MA15+ rating.

It's important to note that *Silent Hill f*'s RC rating was issued by an IARC online tool, designed for mobile and digitally delivered games. This tool operates by having applicants answer a questionnaire about the game's content, after which it automatically assigns ratings based on each country's classification standards. In Australia, these automated ratings are published on the National Classification Database.

In Australia, the IARC tool is used exclusively for digitally-distributed games. It was adopted in 2014 to address the high volume of games released annually on platforms like the iOS app store, which was releasing over 40,000 games a year at that time. There have been instances where IARC ratings have been higher than those assigned by human classifiers on the Australian Classification Board. For example, in 2019, games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few were incorrectly reported as banned in Australia due to their IARC ratings.

The IARC tool is advantageous for small publishers and developers because it's free to use. However, all physical releases must still be rated by the Classification Board. If Silent Hill f plans to have a physical release in Australia, a submission to the Classification Board will be necessary. The Board has the authority to override any IARC-assigned classification if it deems it inappropriate.

In Australia, game publishers can employ staff as accredited classifiers or authorized assessors. Accredited classifiers are trained in-house staff who can classify games, and their decisions are treated as official Classification Board decisions. Authorized assessors, on the other hand, provide recommendations that the Board must then approve or reject.

It's premature to determine whether Silent Hill f's RC rating in Australia will stand after further review. Notably, Silent Hill f is the first game in the series to receive an 18+ rating certification in Japan.