Rimworld banned in Australia

[Stg-Flame]

This happened a few days ago and last I heard, Ludeon Studios were trying to get it sorted out, but so far the game is officially banned for all Australian users. New Steam keys will not activate through any medium (there was a workaround for a few hours according to posts on Reddit but that was also fixed), and non-Aus users are unable to gift copies to Australian users. Supposedly it came about from the possible console release being given a "Refused Classification" from the Australian Classification Board and after talking to a few friends of mine on Steam, they said it's essentially Australia's version of America's ESRB Rating's Board. There's a lot of speculation as to why they refused classification on the potential console port, but most people believe it has to do with Rimworld's ability to let the player do whatever they like - including becoming a drug kingpin who sells people into slavery and harvests their organs for the black market, but I've yet to see an official word on the matter. At first, the developers were fairly confident they would be able to get the ban revoked, but it seems the Classification Board isn't budging on this one.

RimWorld - RimWorld removed from sale in Australia on Steam, existing owners unaffected - Steam News

EDIT: As of April 20, RimWorld is back on Steam in Australia! Hello everyone, Unfortunately, we've just been informed that RimWorld has just been made unavailable for new purchases by Australian customers on Steam. This does not seem to affect existing owners - it only prevents new purchases...

store.steampowered.com

https://www.pcgamer.com/rimworld-has-been-removed-from-steam-in-australia-after-all/

RimWorld Banned on Steam in Australia | TechRaptor

RimWorld was banned on Steam in Australia following news of a supposed console port being banned in the same region.

techraptor.net

A few publications about the matter if anyone wants to read up on it some more.

Personally, I believe this is a very slippery slope when rating boards start to ban games simply because there's content within that would be illegal in real life. I'm curious what others think on the matter.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I think its absurd, but as an American we've had our fair share of moral panic over videogames (luckily in what seems to be now the distant past) so its not like I'm in a position to really throw stones.

Generally speaking the ERSB has used the AO (Adults Only) rating as a sort of soft ban on games before (sort of how an X-rating would soft ban a film from broad distribution).

IMO if the Aussie ratings board has an issue, they should give the game its strictest rating and then either let the dev create an "Aussie safe" version or let distributors/retailers figure out their own comfort level.

Steam clearly does not give a **** about ERSB ratings considering all the Hentai games available there, while Nintendo is super strict about releasing anything on their platform that exceeds the Mature rating.

 

[Hotrod2go]

Censorship is a double edged sword. If your an adult, don't need it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Personally, I believe this is a very slippery slope when rating boards start to ban games simply because there's content within that would be illegal in real life.

Wait until LE starts forming "Meta crimes division", and policing the "metaverse"... you probably think I'm joking...