KEY POINTS

  • "RimWorld" was banned for "high impact themes and drug abuse"
  • The Australian review board reclassified the game as R18+ 
  • The game got banned after an attempt to release it for consoles

The brutal colony survival simulator “RimWorld” is once-again playable in Australia after being made illegal to sell on Feb. 28.

Australia’s Classification Review Board overturned the ban on “RimWorld” following a successful appeal. Four members of the board unanimously decided to unban the game, but they gave it an R18+ classification for “high impact themes and drug use.”

“The game includes fantasy drug use, but in the Review Board’s opinion, the game mechanic ultimately provides disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences such as overdose, addiction, and withdrawal,” the board said in its final ruling.

Australia is somewhat notorious in the gaming community for having strict rules regarding video games, similar to the censorship board in Germany. Popular games that depict excessive blood or violence like “Left 4 Dead 2” and “Mortal Kombat” were previous banned in Australia before receiving censored R18 versions.

Rimworld is a brutal colony sim where players are at the mercy of the game's AI director
Rimworld is a brutal colony sim where players are at the mercy of the game's AI director Ludeon Studios

Though “RimWorld” is nowhere near as graphically violent as the aforementioned games, it still depicts drug use among the player’s colonists. Such drug use can lead to addiction problems within the colonists, which was enough to earn the game a Refused Classification from the Australian review board.

Additionally, “RimWorld’s” setting justifies acts of “high impact violence,” given how players are tasked with maintaining a colony in a very hostile environment.

Australian gamers above 18 can now purchase “RimWorld” again from Steam. This makes the game the latest entry on the country’s list of unbanned games, including “We Happy Few” and “Disco Elysium,” which were also initially banned for drug abuse.

The game has been on the Australian Steam store since its release in 2013. However, a recent push for a “multi-platform” release by publisher Double Eleven Ltd resulted in the game getting blocked for sale.

“RimWorld” is still a very successful game. It holds a 98% positive rating on Steam with over 107K reviews since launch. The game got praised for its brutal difficulty, unpredictability and very high replay value due to its random nature and compatibility with user-made mods.

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