Ludeon Studios’ top-down construction management game Rimworld has been re-approved for purchase in Australia after an appeal from developers. The PC game was first removed from Steam in Australia in 2018 after being available in Early Access since 2013. The country’s Classification Board reviewed the sci-fi simulation game this year as it was preparing for a console release. Upon close examination, the Board refused the game’s classification across all platforms, effectively banning Rimworld from Steam. The government department cited the game’s “high impact themes and drug use” as the reason for the ban.
The Australian Classification Board said in a recently published post on the matter, “The game includes fantasy drug use, but in the Review Board’s opinion, the game mechanic ultimately provides disincentives related to drug-taking behaviour, to the point where regular drug use leads to negative consequences such as overdose, addiction, and withdrawal.” Adding, “Players may choose for colonist pawns to consume drugs in certain scenarios, but this greatly hinders player progress, as characters will succumb to addiction and must deal with long-term negative impacts of their drug use. The drug use is depicted at a distance through a top-down perspective, in a highly stylised, simplified form. The game also contains high-impact themes that are justified by the context of colonists surviving in an inhospitable fantasy world.”
The Board’s decision has led to Rimworld being made available on Steam once again, as confirmed in a message from Ludeon Studios. The game developers said in a post to fans, “Hello everyone! We have great news for our Australian players – RimWorld is once again available for purchase on Steam in Australia. This means Australians have access to the RimWorld Steam store page and can gift and receive Steam keys for the game. (It also means you can read this news update. ) Everything should be back to normal!”
