The Australian Government has a long history of harsh crackdowns on mature-targeted games. Hopefully, that’s about to change with their ban review on Disco Elysium: The Final Cut.
The start of the Disco Elysium: The Final Cut drama in Australia dates back to mid-March 2021, where the Australian Classification Board effectively outlawed all physical copies of the game in the country after refusing to classify it.
Naturally, not many were happy. Publishers ZA/UM were propelled with determination to see the game they put their blood, sweat, and tears into become accessible to all, on all its designated platforms.
And their efforts paid off. On April 20th, just one month after the game was officially rejected by the Australian Classification Board, the same entity repealed its decision by announcing a review. Giving a glimmer of hope to those eagerly awaiting a hard copy of the controversial, but jaw-dropping game, the government organisation stated:
“The Classification Review Board will meet on Tuesday 11 May 2021 to consider the application. The decision and reasons will later be published on www.classification.gov.au.”
Although this move is uplifting for Disco Elysium fans, it’s best to remain skeptical of the Australian ratings board’s general handling of video games. Their hypocritical attitude towards games is often blatantly contrasted to their treatment of films – if drugs, sex, and violence are fine on the big screen, why are they refused classification once they’re on a different medium?
I've been patiently waiting for Disco Elysium on console, only for my nanny government to ban it 🙄
— Cappie (@SenorCappie) March 24, 2021
Right now, those living in the land down under are still limited to playing the game on PC. Due to its current status of being refused classification (RC), all retailers across the country are prohibited from stocking up physical copies of Disco Elysium. Though the penalty varies depending on the state, any breaches can result in a hefty fine of up to $15,000.
What’s more, although the review of the current ban on Disco Elysium does bring a ray of hope, it could be quite some time before we actually see these discussions yield any tangible results.
Take We Happy Few, for instance. This game is a key example showcasing the arduous journey of video games fighting to escape from the dreaded RC classification. We Happy Few only had their RC rating overturned due to the Classification Review Board discovering that the drugs used in-game actually aligned with their own views on drug usage not being incentivised.
It did get banned again though, so the strict guidelines video games in Australia are subject to prevailed in the end.
Regardless, while you’re waiting for the ban to be lifted, you can currently grab a digital copy of Disco Elysium: The Final Cut on Steam here.
