Konami's upcoming game, Silent Hill f, has been refused classification (RC) in Australia, indicating that it cannot be sold in the country at this time. However, this rating was assigned by an automated tool from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), not by the Australian Classification Board. Given past precedents, it's likely that this is not the final decision on the game's classification.
Konami does not handle its own distribution in Australia, and IGN has reached out to their third-party distributor for a statement on this matter.
The specific reasons behind Silent Hill f's RC rating have not yet been disclosed. Since the introduction of the R18+ category for games in Australia in January 2013, games are typically refused classification only if they contain sexual activity with someone who appears to be under 18, visual depictions of sexual violence, or incentives related to drug use. A previous Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Homecoming, was initially refused classification in 2008 due to a high-impact torture scene but was later released with modified camera angles and rated MA15+ after the introduction of the R18+ category.
It's important to note that Silent Hill f's RC rating was issued through an IARC online tool, designed for mobile and digitally delivered games. This tool uses a questionnaire to assess a game's content and automatically assigns ratings based on the standards of participating countries. In Australia, this tool has been used since 2014 for digitally distributed games, as the Australian Classification Board could not keep up with the volume of games released on platforms like the iOS app store.
There have been instances where the IARC tool has assigned higher ratings than the Classification Board would have, leading to confusion and reports of games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few being "banned" when they were not.
The IARC tool is beneficial for small publishers and developers because it's free to use. However, physical game releases still require a rating from the Classification Board, which has the authority to override any IARC-assigned classification.
In Australia, game publishers can employ accredited classifiers or authorized assessors. Accredited classifiers are trained in-house staff whose decisions are considered official by the Classification Board. Authorized assessors, on the other hand, can only make recommendations to the Board.
While it's premature to conclude whether Silent Hill f's RC rating will stand, it's noteworthy that this game has received an 18+ rating certification in Japan, marking a first for the Silent Hill series.
