Once again, a classification board has given us the skinny on an in-development project. This time, the Australian Classification Board revealed that the Bethesda Game Studios sci-fi RPG, Starfield, will have an R18+ rating.
According to the game's rating in Australia, the ambitious space opera will have content that's "considered high in impact" for players and depict "drug use". Other info revealed by the game's rating includes a "strong impact" for violence and a "moderate impact" for language, with a "very mild impact" rating on nudity and "none" for sex.
In comparison, Bethesda's most recent titles, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 76 only rated MA15+ in Australia.
The good news is that Bethesda still has several months to possibly get the Classification Board in Australia to change its mind. It isn't clear of the studio intends to do this or if it will let the rating be. But, something tells us that Bethesda will want to sell Starfield to as many people as possible.
As presumably the reason why The Elder Scrolls VI isn't coming any sooner, Bethesda needs Starfield to do well among critics and audiences alike.
Starfield will have a hard time keeping up with the sales of, let's say, Hogwarts Legacy, if it isn't available to buy for gamers who are younger than 18. It's already hampered by its exclusivity on the Xbox Series S/X, after all.
Starfield is Bethesda Game Studios' first original IP since 2002 and just the second in its storied history. IRHA Drag Racing is based on a real-life sport while Fallout was an acquired property. This puts a ton of pressure on Starfield to sell plenty of copies.
Fortunately, playtesters agree that it's one of the studio's best games yet. Now that Starfield has a release date with an upcoming showcase to boot, we'll likely find out more about Starfield before it's ready to roll out.
If all goes well, Starfield will be ready for lift-off on September 6 this year.
