Konami's upcoming title, Silent Hill f, has received a Refused Classification (RC) rating in Australia, effectively barring its sale in the country for the time being. However, this RC rating was issued by an automated classification tool rather than by actual members of the Australian Classification Board. Based on past cases, this is likely not the final verdict.

Konami does not handle its own game distribution in Australia, but IGN has reached out to its third-party local distributor for a statement.

The exact reasons for the RC rating have not been disclosed. Since the introduction of the R18+ category for video games in Australia in January 2013, titles that are refused classification are typically flagged for depictions of sexual activity involving underage characters, visual scenes of sexual violence, or rewards linked to drug use. Back in 2008, Silent Hill: Homecoming was initially refused classification ahead of its release due to an intense torture scene. This occurred before the R18+ rating was established, which now permits high-impact violence. The game was eventually released in Australia with modified camera angles for the problematic scene and received an MA15+ rating.

What we do know is that Silent Hill f’s RC rating was assigned by an online tool run by the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), a system created for mobile and digitally delivered games. Through this tool, developers complete a questionnaire about their game's content, and the IARC system automatically assigns a rating based on the standards of each participating country. For Australia, the automated decision is then published directly to the National Classification Database.

In Australia, the tool is restricted to digitally distributed games. It was adopted in 2014 because, while the Australian Classification Board was handling around 755 games per year, over 40,000 games were being released annually on the iOS App Store alone at that time. There have been multiple cases where automated IARC ratings have been stricter than human-assigned ratings from the Classification Board. For instance, in 2019, games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few were incorrectly reported as banned in Australia when they were not.

The IARC tool is free to use, which is especially helpful for small publishers and indie developers. It's important to note that physical releases still require a rating from the Classification Board itself. So if Silent Hill f is planning a physical launch in Australia, a submission to the Board would have been mandatory regardless. The Classification Board also retains the authority to override any IARC-assigned rating if it disagrees with the result.

In Australia, game publishers may employ accredited classifiers or authorised assessors. Accredited classifiers are in-house staff trained by the Classification Board and can issue official classification decisions. Authorised assessors also undergo similar training, but their role is limited to making recommendations to the Australian Classification Board, which then makes the final decision.

At this stage, it's too soon to tell whether Silent Hill f’s RC rating will stand after further review. That said, it is the first Silent Hill title to receive an 18+ rating certification in Japan.