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Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance has been given a Refused Classification certificate by the Australian Classification Board – banning it from sale in the country.
While the classification occurred on July 30th of this year, “Ref Classification” (a Twitter account specializing in sharing information on what has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board) drew attention to it on August 21st.
The game had been classified twice before on October 30th 2017, and May 7th 2019 for the Royal Edition. Both times the game was classified as R 18+, and both times by Koch Media as the publisher. While the latest classification has several elements missing compared to the older classifications- including Author, Country of Origin, and File Number- this also applies to other media marked as refused classification.
The exact reason for the classification was not specified, the classification itself stated as: “Material that is classified RC contains content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally accepted community standards.” We have reached out to the Australian Classification Board for comment. We will keep you informed as we learn more.
One possible reason is proposed by Kotaku Australia, theorizing it could be due to new content added in the latest and final DLC for the game “A Woman’s Lot.” Editor’s Note: Viewer discretion is advised. During the DLC, Theresa is assaulted and almost raped during the raid on Skalitz. While the player can save Theresa, failing to do so will result in her saving herself. At no point is any nudity or genitalia shown during the scene.
However, that content was in Kingdom Come: Deliverance- Royal Edition along with all other DLC. As aforementioned, that was given a R 18+ rating on May 7th 2019, with “High Impact” sex and violence. This could indicate the board may not have come across the scene in their initial inspection, or others have drawn the scene to their attention, causing re-evaluation.
The Kingdom Come subReddit also discussed the matter in a thread sarcastically-titled “Geez I love being Australian.” Some users show doubt at it being enforceable due to online purchasing and VPNs. Others speculate the scene will be patched out via updates. The user Highw4ySt4r also discussed what he felt was the hypocrisy with the board when it came to the treatment of video games compared to different forms of media:
“Why are films and TV able to show stuff that games can’t?
I’m watching The Boys right now and I bet that isn’t banned in Australia.
Isn’t it enough to put an adult rating on a game, and expect parents to be fucking patents for once?
Oh your child saw a nasty thing in a game… a game that you shouldn’t have bought for your child!
Games are an artform like any other media and they shouldn’t be censored or banned in the prudish way they’re being in Australia.”
Back in July 2018, Australian Senator and leader of the Australian Liberal Democrats David Leyonhjelm proposed a bill to the Australian government to prevent video games from being banned in the region.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is available nos on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In case you missed it, you can find our review for the game here.
