Devolver Digital launched Katana Zero on Steam for PC and on Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop. The game is currently available for download for $14.99 for everyone but Australians.
Back on April 16th, 2019 Devolver Digital informed the gaming community that Katana Zero’s release hit a slight snag due to the fact that they were refused classification in Australia after going through the automated ratings process offered by the IARC, which is the International Age Rating Coalition that Australia oftentimes uses to automatically classify games ahead of their release in the region.
Heads up to folks in Australia / New Zealand – Katana ZERO has a ‘Classification Refused’ rating and therefore will not be released on Switch in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday.
Our team is re-submitting in hopes to get that changed and we’ll keep you posted with news! pic.twitter.com/VTt9U4Jni3
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) April 17, 2019
Some people thought that this meant that Katana Zero was effectively banned in Australia. While that’s technically true, it’s not the whole truth.
Later in the thread Devolver explained that they would have to submit the game through the individual ratings boards to get it rated right proper instead of relying on the IARC. So while the release in Australia is definitely postponed, not all hope is lost until the Australian Classification Board hands down a verdict.
It was originally submitted through IARC, we will now submit back through the individual boards.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) April 17, 2019
The game itself is a retro-style digital hack-and-slash title. Given the old-school 16-bit look a lot of people wondered what may have triggered the automatic refusal from the IARC, and some speculated that it may be due to the game’s mechanic to slow down time, which relies on a drug. For those of you who don’t know, Australia and some other ratings boards are very peculiar about games that even bring up the use of drugs, especially if it’s not specifically portrayed for the purpose of condemnation. A similar thing happened with Awfully Nice Studios’ The Bug Butcher, which was also initially refused a rating in Australia due to the fact that the game’s power-ups were pills, and the ratings board saw the pills as a form of drug use.
We’ll see if Devolver has better luck getting the game rated for release in Australia by individually submitting the game to each ratings board, or if Katana Zero will still be refused a rating for an equally silly reason.
For everyone who doesn’t live in the land back down under, you can currently pick up a digital copy of Katana Zero from over on the Steam store for $14.99, or you can grab a digital copy of the game from over on the Nintendo eShop for $14.99.
