Star Wars Battlefront Earns Surprising PEGI 16 Rating

Star Wars Battlefront has earned a PEGI 16 rating for Europe.

The rating is marginally higher than expected for a Star Wars property, analogous to the T for Teen rating given by the ESRB in the US.  It’s also a step away from a rating for mature audiences only.

PEGI’s rating includes these details:

Violence consists mainly of players using guns and lightsabres against enemy forces, who fall down limply when struck, though there is never any blood or visible injury. Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine can also choke or electrocute their enemies, causing them to realistically struggle, writhe and yell in pain.

In general, the PEGI 16 rating is meted out to games that have realistic violence against human characters, including situations that lead to character death and injury. Certainly, with the way Force users like Palpatine and Vader enter the game, they can employ more elaborate and brutal ways of killing people than even the likes of Boba Fett is capable of.

This slightly higher rating could have an effect on the game’s sales, although given current gaming demographics it could still do very well. At this point, if EA had objections or were willing to modify Star Wars Battlefront to change the rating, they would have to delay the game away from its key holiday release, including its timing matching the release of the upcoming movie.

If you were in EA’s position, what do you think they should do? Share your thoughts with us in the comments. Star Wars Battlefront will be released on November 17 on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.