Image credit: Arc System Works
Fighting game Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact has been refused a rating by the notoriously-strict Australian ratings board.
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact has been effectively banned down under by the country’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts’ Classification Board for “implied sexual violence”.
Whilst no specific reason was given on the ratings website itself – in “reason for refused classification”, it simply invites people to contact the organisation for more information – a statement from the Australian Classification Board said the game “contains a scene of a visual depiction of implied sexual violence, where an adult male exposes himself to persons under the age of 18 years”.
Hunter x Hunter’s first full-fledged fighting game is set to release in 2025, featuring 3v3 Nen ability team battles. It’s unclear at this time if publisher Arc System Works will appeal the decision or censor its game accordingly to appease the board.
Just last month, PlayStation removed Hotline Miami 2 from sale in Australia and refunded PS5 owners who bought the game, a decade on from the infamous kerfuffle over its release down under.
Back in January 2015, designer Jonatan Söderström memorably told Aussie fans to simply pirate Hotline Miami 2 after its release was blocked by the Australian Classification Board, due to its inclusion of a skippable scene that showed simulated sexual violence.
