Disco Elysium: The Final Cut Deemed Illegal to Sell in Australia
By Zach Snoddy
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut has been refused classification in Australia and will be deemed illegal to sell in the country. The expanded edition of the critically acclaimed RPG was announced in December and would bring the game to home consoles for the first time. It was refused classification due to its depictions of drug addiction, crime, sex, cruelty, and violence.
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut Deemed Illegal to Sell in Australia
The original version of Disco Elysium was released in 2019 exclusively on PC, which allowed it to bypass the need for a rating from the Australian Classification Board. With The Final Cut coming to consoles, the Board is now required to provide a rating to the game for a more commercial release. A product is to be refused classification from the Board if it "contains content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally-accepted community standards."
Disco Elysium's edgy subject matter was enough for the Board to deem it illegal to sell. Specifically, they explained that the game featured "matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified."
In Disco Elysium, players control an alcoholic detective solving a murder mystery in a war-torn city. The game also features violence and sex throughout, including a scene where someone is murdered while having sex. The same mature content that earned the game praised from critics is what will now prevent it from being sold in Australia, at least on console.
Disco Elysium is considered one of the best games of 2019, having won four awards at The Game Awards 2019 including Best Narrative, Best Independent Game, and Best Role-Playing Game. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is schedule for release on March 30.