Developer Digital recently gave us the heads up that their upcoming action 2D title, Katana Zero, is having a bit of an issue. The title has been refused classification in both Australia and New Zealand. The title was originally submitted through the automated IARC process.
Devolver Digital has stated they will resubmit the game for classification and hopefully this time a pair of human eyes will oversee the process. In the meanwhile, Katana Zero has been scheduled to be released this week for the Switch and PC. While the title may still be available on the PC, the Switch version is currently delayed.
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
The IARC or International Age Rating Coalition oversees the process of providing content ratings for video games in several countries. Of which New Zealand and Australia are members of. This is similar to the ESRB for North America or PEGI for Europe. However, they are perhaps more strict than the latter and are known for rejecting games for various reasons.
Here’s to hoping the second time is the charm.