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Image credit: Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s open-world RPG Star Wars Outlaws has been rated in South Korea as adults only due to its inclusion of in-game gambling elements.
The game’s 19+ rating was published yesterday on the website for the Game Rating and Administration Committee, the South Korean games rating board, as spotted by reddit user Ajxtt.
According to the GRAC’s rating guide, a 19+ rating is used when its deemed that a game contains “representations of anti-societal idea, religion and public morals that would be harmful to children under 19 emotionally and physically”.
Specifically, Star Wars Outlaws has been flagged for gambling. According to the GRAC, a game will be rated 19+ for “reproduction of gambling spirit (existence of arousing of passion of excessive use of gaming money, or dependence on one’s luck, but no real gaining or loss of one’s asset)”.
Even without a translation of the full rating, the content descriptor for gambling is the only one which has been confirmed (유 – present, as opposed to 무 – not present).
In English, the basis for the 19+ rating reads as follows (translated by Eurogamer): “Realistic depictions of speculative behaviour. Presence of a mini-game which contains in-game betting and payouts.”
The rating doesn’t mention any real-world gambling mechanics such as loot boxes. Eurogamer has contacted Ubisoft for confirmation and we’ll update if we hear back.
In South Korea, gambling is strictly controlled and considered unlawful, which could factor into the board’s decision to give Star Wars Outlaws a 19+ rating rather than a more lenient 15+ (which is given if a game contains a “low level of reproduction of gambling spirit”.
At the beginning of the year, Star Wars owner Disney said Outlaws would release in “late” 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, though it later backtracked on the timeframe as just “in 2024”. The game will revisit familiar locations like Tatooine and Mos Eisley, with no procedurally generated planets in sight.
