It’s not long – or at least, not that long – until the Starfield release date, but still, the finer details of the upcoming Bethesda RPG game remain under wraps. With the Starfield showcase set for June 11, we’re expecting to see much more of the Fallout and Skyrim dev’s space odyssey in the near future. For the moment, however, based on a newly published age rating, it sounds like Starfield includes some pretty strong stuff, from drug use to violence and nudity – but apparently no sex.
Starfield will allegedly feature violence with a “strong impact”, “very-mild-impact” nudity, and “moderate” language. That’s according to the Australian Classification Board, which assigns Starfield an “18+” rating – the most restrictive, outside of adult films.
The 18+ rating is apparently owing to Starfield’s “high-impact” drug use, with a separate note from the Classification Board alleging that Starfield features drug use that is “interactive.”
Starfield will also reportedly include themes with a “moderate” impact, but no sex. You can see the full rating from the Australian Classification Board, with a grey mark certifying Starfield’s sexlessness, below:
With regards to interactive drug use, Fallout and Skyrim fans will be familiar with game items like Jet, Psycho, and Skooma – in-universe narcotics that provide temporary buffs to a character’s stats, but run the risk of creating the ‘addicted’ de-buff, creating a long-term detrimental effect on play. It’s possible that Starfield will include a similar style of in-game consumables.
However, the Australian Classification Board rating for Fallout 4 describes only “moderate” drug use, whereas the rating for Skyrim says there is no drug use whatsoever, perhaps pointing to a more overt system in Starfield.
Inversely, Skyrim is rated for mild sexual content; Fallout 4 gets the more explicit sexual rating of moderate. Although both games contain romance and relationship options, neither feature an explcit sex scene, so perhaps Starfield is even more restrained. It unlikely won’t come as a surprise however that fellow RPG game The Witcher 3 is restricted in Australia for its “high-impact” depictions of intimacy.
As we wait for its full launch, try some of the other best games like Starfield. You might also want to get a headstart visiting all the Starfield cities, or, if today’s news comes to you as a disappointment, perhaps the best sex games on PC.