You might think that Bethesda Game Studios’ upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield would be a bit more family-friendly compared to its other games like the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. Apparently, that might not be the case. The game was recently rated by the Australian Classification Board (via GameSpot) and Starfield got slapped with an R18+ rating.
The listing for the game on the ACB site says the high rating was for Starfield’s drug use, which the board claims has a “High Impact”for players. Violence in the game has been rated as “Strong Impact”while other aspects like Themes, Language, and Nudity, have either moderate or very mild impacts, according to the board.
With this R18+ rating in place, it means Starfield cannot be legally sold to minors in Australia. It could also affect how Bethesda, and its owner Microsoft, handles marketing and advertising for the game. However, Bethesda does have a chance to make changes to the game so that it can get a lower rating from the board.
After a number of delays, Starfield is currently slated for release on September 6 for the PC and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S consoles. It will also be available day-and-date for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
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