Konami's upcoming game, Silent Hill f, has been refused classification (RC) in Australia, preventing its sale in the country for now. This RC rating was assigned by an automated tool from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), not by the Australian Classification Board directly. Given past precedents, it's likely that this won't be the final outcome.
Konami doesn't handle its own distribution in Australia; IGN has reached out to their third-party distributor for further comment. The specific reasons for the RC rating have not been disclosed yet. Since the introduction of the R18+ category for games in Australia in January 2013, games are typically refused classification for content involving sexual activity with minors, depictions of sexual violence, or linking rewards to drug use. A previous Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Homecoming, faced a similar issue in 2008 due to a high-impact torture scene, but it was eventually released with modifications and an MA15+ rating after the R18+ category was introduced.
*Silent Hill f*'s RC rating in Australia was determined by the IARC's online tool, designed for mobile and digitally delivered games. This tool involves an online questionnaire where developers answer questions about the game's content, resulting in automated ratings based on each country's standards. In Australia, the IARC tool's decision is automatically published on the National Classification Database.
Since its adoption in Australia in 2014, the IARC tool has been used for digitally distributed games due to the high volume of games released annually, especially on platforms like the iOS app store. There have been instances where the IARC's automated ratings have been higher than those assigned by the Classification Board. For example, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few were mistakenly reported as banned in Australia in 2019.
The IARC tool is free, which is advantageous for small publishers and developers. However, all physical game releases must still be rated by the Australian Classification Board. If Silent Hill f plans a physical release in Australia, a submission to the Board would be necessary. The Board retains the authority to override any IARC-assigned classification.
In Australia, game publishers can employ staff as accredited classifiers or authorized assessors. Accredited classifiers, after training by the Classification Board, can classify games with decisions that carry the same weight as the Board's. Authorized assessors, with similar training, can only make recommendations that the Board can choose to accept or reject.
Currently, it's premature to determine whether Silent Hill f's RC rating in Australia will stand after further review. Notably, Silent Hill f has received an 18+ rating in Japan, marking it as the first in the series to do so.
