RimWorld gets a chance to reverse its Australian ban
"We've got some legal professionals and expert witnesses helping out, so I'm optimistic."
The Australian Classification Board has agreed to review its decision to ban RimWorld from sale.
RimWorld, developer Ludeon Studios' widely acclaimed sci-fi colony sim, was refused classification in Australia last month, preventing its release and effectively banning it from sale.
As Matt posited at the time it wasn't a particularly surprising decision given the Australian Classification Board is notoriously sensitive around certain issues in games, and RimWorld is, after all, a simulation whose incredibly deep systems make drug-fuelled cannibalism an entirely legitimate pastime for colonist.
However, it was a bit confusing given RimWorld had been available to purchase on PC in Australia for nearly five years at the time the ban was put into effect.
Now, however, it looks as though Australia is at least willing to reassess its original ruling. RimWorld's creator Tynan Sylvester took to Twitter to announce the news, stating: "Good news! The Australian Classification Board [is] going to review their ruling which banned RimWorld from sale in Australia.
"We've got some legal professionals and expert witnesses helping out, so I'm optimistic. Thanks everyone for your support on this," Sylvester added (thanks, NME).
The meeting is scheduled for 20th April, after which the board says it will share its "decisions and reasons" online for us all to see.
RimWorld is far from the first title to be banned by the Australia Classification Board. In recent years, it's given DayZ an RC rating - a move that eventually saw developer Bohemia Interactive opting to remove drug references from the game worldwide - and it's similarly banned We Happy Few and Disco Elysium after taking umbrage with their depictions of drug use. In the latter two cases, however, the RC ratings were eventually overturned. It remains to be seen if RimWorld too can lodge a similarily successful appeal.