Silent Hill f has been effectively banned in Australia

The upcoming game Silent Hill f has been “Refused Classification” by Australia’s ratings board, which effectively bans it in the country.

Australia has become infamous in recent years for its draconian censorship policies which have led to de facto bans of video games, anime, and manga. Silent Hill f is only the latest target of Australia’s censors. You can check out Australian Classification for Silent Hill f here.

A reason hasn’t been given for the game’s refusal to be classified, but it speculatively has something to do with its content and in particular how it may approach historically accurate gender discrimination, violence, or drugs as mentioned in the game’s content warning.

“This game contains depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence. This game is set in Japan in the 1960s and contains depictions based on the customs and culture of that time. These depictions do not reflect the opinions or values of the developers or any individuals involved. If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break from playing or speak to someone you trust.”

In the past, Australia has banned games for including drugs as a mechanic. Perhaps most famously Rimworld was denied a rating, creating a ban which wasn’t lifted until the country’s rating board surprisingly changed their minds.

Silent Hill f is in development for Windows PC (via Steam, the Microsoft Store, and the Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, though a release date wasn’t announced.