The Australian Classification Board has accepted Compulsion Games’ appeal to have We Happy Few re-reviewed for a rating in order to be legally released as a retail game in Australia. Originally the the board denied the game a rating because they felt it promoted drug use, even though the game is basically a giant anti-drug campaign.
Compulsion Games announced via Twitter that on June 26th, 2018 the appeals process had gone through and the board was re-reviewing We Happy Few.
AUSTRALIA UPDATE: The appeal for We Happy Few classification is under way, and the Classification Review Board is opening submissions from the public. If this is something that interests you, here is the link: https://t.co/6DzBS1pEn9
— Compulsion Games (@CompulsionGames) June 26, 2018
As noted in the tweet, the highlight of this particular appeals is that the general public was given an opportunity to apply for a standing as part of the review. Names and organizations that partake in the appeals for the Convenor of the Review Board will have their names disclosed in the final report, unless privacy is otherwise requested.
The Canadian developers have been working on We Happy Few since its announcement and crowdfunding campaign back in 2015.
The game was originally denied a rating when Gearbox Publishing was set to release the game in Australia.
Since then Compulsion Games has been attempting to get an appeal to have We Happy Few properly rated so it can be released in the land down under.
Now according to the Classification Review Board press release, submissions were viable between June 26th and June 29th, giving gamers or other developers a very short window of opportunity to make the case.
Whether or not Australia will go back and take a look at the game in a proper light or continue to falsely claim that it promotes drug use will be determined when the final appeals review goes through.