One of the most anticipated titles to come out in 2023 is easily Bethesda’s hotly anticipated space adventure Starfield. The game has been in the works for well over five years now, and Todd Howard and company have been slowly revealing more information as time goes on. Now we’re in the home stretch, as the title’s September 6 launch date is nearing soon. When approaching release date, one of the first instances that the title is essentially ready to go is when it recieves a rating, or a review from a classification board. That’s what’s happening now as Starfield has been officially rated by the Australian Classification Board, and to the surprise of no one, it’s the highest rating the country gives out.
The rating, which is the Restricted 18+ rating, is described as “strong impact, violence, and very mild nudity.” The drug use, which has the furthest rating on the board, is what essentially pushed the title to receive the rating from the Australian Board. This potentially means that the player character could use a variety of different drugs throughout the game all with different affects. However, one of the most interesting facets of this rating was what as not even given a mark: sex.
The rating does not touch the sex section, which only means that there is virtually none observed within the game. Considering that relationships are more or less a confirmed feature in the title, it’s fairly surprising to see that intimacy is allegedly absent in Starfield. Many other sci-fi, and non-sci-fi titles have given the player an option to engage in such acts, Mass Effect being the most obvious example. Either way, the title’s rating in Australia will more or less be a catalyst to how other rating boards review the title before it launches later this year. We’re more than likely looking at another M rating in the Western regions.
Starfield will launch on September 6, 2023, for the Xbox Series X/Series S and PC.