Last week brought news from Australia that developer Red Barrels’ sequel to the 2013 survival-horror game Outlast had been barred from sale in the country after being given an RC game rating, with RC standing for “Refused Classification”.  If given an RC rating, a game will not launch or be sold in the country.  Today, Luke Reilly of IGN reported that Australia’s Classification Board had decided to reclassify the game as R18+.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Australian rating scale, here’s the gist of where Outlast 2 sits.  RC, as mentioned, leads the game to be barred from sale in Australia.  The highest saleable classification is X18+, given for sexually explicit content.  The rating given to Outlast 2 is next, R18+, and it’s given for “‘high impact horror themes, violence, blood, gore and sex'” as Reilly quotes Classification Board’s page on Outlast 2.
This rating, while limiting who may actually purchase the game once it launches, does allow the game to launch at all in Australia.  Reilly notes that IGN had contacted both the developer and the Classification Board to learn the reason for the reclassification as, Reilly writes, “The circumstances surrounding the reclassification are not entirely clear at this stage.”  Should we learn the reason, or get further detail regarding the worldwide launch of Outlast 2, we’ll keep you updated.  Until then, stay tuned to Rectify Gaming for the latest.
Source: Australian Classification Board
Via: IGN