\u201cHalloween: The Game contains illicit drug use that is linked to an incentive or reward, in that use of the drug provides a gameplay advantage to the player. It is on this basis that the game has been refused classification, as required under the Code and Guidelines,\u201d the board wrote in a recent statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the wake of the decision, Illfonic\u2019s social media accounts have been flooded with comments from irate Australians. An FoI officer said the Classification Board had received more than 500 complaints in relation to Halloween: The Game.<\/p>\n The uproar has resurfaced longstanding grievances about how games are classified in Australia compared to film and television, and the inability for adults to access games widely available in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n double quotation markCan we stop pretending that the way we classify games in Australia, in 2026, is appropriate for adults? Because it\u2019s notMargaret Anderson, former director of the Classification Board<\/p>\n Claire Henry, associate professor in screen at Flinders University and an Australian Research Council Decra fellow, says the board enforced the guidelines correctly but the controversy around the decision highlights \u201ca mismatch between the community standards and the classification standards\u201d.<\/p>\n The decision on Halloween: The Game follows several high-profile cases that have seen games such as State of Decay<\/a>, Wasteland 3<\/a> and Saints Row IV<\/a> banned in Australia for the same reason: incentivised drug use. All of these games were later reclassified after censoring aspects of their gameplay.<\/p>\n Saints Row IV. The game was initially refused classification in Australia, and could not be released. The game was later released after a particular mission was removed. Photograph: Deep Silver<\/p>\n Dan Golding, professor of media at Monash University, says that two assumptions have been baked into the classifying of games in Australia. \u201cGames have always been regulated based on the assumption there is something more impactful about doing, in a game, than there is about watching, in a film,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cA second assumption is that games are for kids \u2013 or at least the regulation system exists to protect kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Ron Curry has battled these assumptions in skirmishes with the Classification Board over his nearly two decades as CEO of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA). Alongside a dogged public campaign and a cadre of journalists, the IGEA helped introduce an R18+ category for video games in 2013, the absence of which had stopped several games being released in Australia before.<\/p>\n After the R18+ classification was brought in, Curry noted the job was not finished<\/a> \u2013 the trade-off for introducing the category was that video games were still seen as a distinct form of media, with greater risks attached.<\/p>\n \u201cIt still very clearly said games are different to all other media, it\u2019s more dangerous, and we need to treat it more carefully,\u201d says Curry.<\/p>\n Interactivity \u2013 the doing Golding refers to \u2013 has always underlined this belief. The guidelines for games, introduced alongside the R18+ rating, state that \u201cas a general rule computer games may have a higher impact than similarly themed depictions of the classifiable elements in film, and therefore greater potential for harm or detriment, particularly to minors\u201d.<\/p>\n Curry points to the Australian government\u2019s own research that has<\/a> suggested interactivity may not increase the impact of video games, particularly in regards to violent content, and there has been limited research on interactivity around drug use, sex, gambling and nudity.<\/p>\n Margaret Anderson, a former director of the Classification Board, says the huge focus on interactivity in games drove her nuts during her seven years on the board. She points to decades of research<\/a> showing games are predominantly played by adults.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Pushing Buttons<\/p>\n Keza MacDonald’s weekly look at the world of gaming<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cCan we stop pretending that the way we classify games in this country, in 2026, is appropriate for adults? Because it\u2019s not,\u201d Anderson says.<\/p>\n Academics have shown the current classification system isn\u2019t just preventing access to games, however. Often, the standards are incoherent.<\/p>\n Marcus Carter, founder of the Sydney Games and Play Lab at the University of Sydney, recently led a study<\/a> \u2013 yet to be peer reviewed \u2013 that showed inconsistencies across the classifications of mobile games in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. In 18 separate cases across the 31 top-grossing mobile games, four different age ratings were included for a single game.<\/p>\n Carter describes the current system as \u201cnot fit for purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n The worry, for experts like Carter and Henry, is that the inconsistent standards have a negative impact on how the community views classifications and age ratings.<\/p>\n \u201cInconsistencies can kind of undermine public confidence in the classification system,\u201d says Henry. \u201cIt is a good system in many ways, and we\u2019ve got to maintain that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n The Australian government is undertaking a review of the classification guidelines<\/a> with the aim of delivering a simpler, more consistent approach across films, games and publications. Among a raft of proposals \u2013 including introducing a PG13 rating and adjusting the MA15+ classification to MA16+ \u2013 one idea is to \u201cremove the harsher judgement of video games\u2019 interactivity\u201d. IGEA<\/a> and Henry<\/a> have submitted to the review.<\/p>\n In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts said: \u201cThe Australian Government is working to modernise the National Classification Scheme to ensure it remains aligned with community standards and helps Australians make informed decisions about what they read, watch and play. This work is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n Illfonic has shown no sign it will censor Halloween: The Game and have its classification reviewed in Australia. Illfonic and the game\u2019s co-publisher Gun Interactive did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Though the instances of Australia banning games has been a rare occurrence, one future decision looms large: how will Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest instalment in a franchise packed with sex, drugs and violence, be rated?<\/p>\n For Anderson, the way forward is simple.<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundational pillar of classification in Australia is that adults should be able to read, hear, see, play what they want,\u201d she says. \u201cCan we please respect that fact?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Halloween\u2019s Michael Myers is one of film\u2019s most feared boogeymen, responsible for some of the most brutal on-screen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-602326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/500.jpg\")
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