Silent Hill f Banned in Australia

Konami's upcoming game, Silent Hill f, has encountered a classification hurdle in Australia, receiving a Refused Classification (RC) rating. This rating, assigned by an automated tool from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), means the game cannot be sold in Australia at this time. However, the use of an automated tool rather than a human review by the Australian Classification Board suggests that this may not be the final decision.

Konami does not handle local distribution in Australia, and IGN has reached out to their third-party distributor for further comment on this issue. The specific reasons behind the RC rating for Silent Hill f remain undisclosed. Typically, games in Australia are refused classification for content involving sexual activity with minors, depictions of sexual violence, or rewards linked to drug use. Previously, Silent Hill: Homecoming faced a similar issue in 2008 due to a high-impact torture scene but was later released with modifications and rated MA15+ after the introduction of the R18+ category for games in January 2013.

The IARC's classification tool, which was adopted in Australia in 2014, is designed for rating digitally distributed games. It operates by having applicants answer a questionnaire about the game's content, after which the tool automatically assigns ratings based on the standards of participating countries. In Australia, this tool's ratings are published directly to the National Classification Database. Notably, there have been cases where the IARC's automated ratings have been more stringent than those assigned by human reviewers from the Australian Classification Board.

The IARC tool is especially advantageous for small publishers and developers due to its no-cost usage. However, all physical game releases in Australia still require a direct submission to the Classification Board, which retains the authority to override any IARC-assigned rating. Game publishers in Australia can employ accredited classifiers or authorized assessors. Accredited classifiers are trained in-house staff whose ratings are official, whereas authorized assessors provide recommendations that the Classification Board can choose to accept or reject.

While it is premature to determine the final outcome for Silent Hill f in Australia, it's worth noting that this title has achieved an 18+ rating in Japan, marking it as the first in the Silent Hill series to do so.