"Silent Hill f Denied Classification in Australia"

Konami's upcoming game, Silent Hill f, has been refused classification (RC) in Australia, indicating that it cannot be sold within the country at this time. However, this RC rating was assigned by an automated tool from the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), rather than by the actual Australian Classification Board members. Given past precedents, it's unlikely that this will be the final decision.

Konami does not handle its own distribution in Australia, and IGN has reached out to their third-party distribution partner for further comments.

The specific reasons for Silent Hill f's RC rating have not been disclosed yet. Since the introduction of the adults-only R18+ category for games in Australia in January 2013, games are typically refused classification only for content involving sexual activity with a person who appears to be under 18, visual depictions of sexual violence, or incentives tied to drug use. A previous instance involved Silent Hill: Homecoming in 2008, which was initially refused classification due to a high-impact torture scene but was later released with modifications and an MA15+ rating after the R18+ category was introduced.

Australia adopted the IARC tool in 2014 for digitally-distributed games due to the overwhelming number of games released annually on platforms like the iOS app store. There have been cases where the IARC tool's automated ratings have been higher than those assigned by human classifiers from the Australian Classification Board. For instance, in 2019, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few were mistakenly reported as banned in Australia.

The IARC tool is free, benefiting smaller publishers and developers. However, all physical game releases still require a direct rating from the Classification Board. If Silent Hill f plans a physical release in Australia, a submission to the Classification Board would be mandatory regardless of the IARC rating. The Board 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 provide recommendations to the Board, which then makes the final decision.

At this stage, it's premature to determine if Silent Hill f's RC rating will be upheld following further review. Notably, Silent Hill f is the first in the series to receive an 18+ rating in Japan.