In a move that will shock next to nobody, the Australian Classification Board, which issues age ratings for games, movies and more in the land down under, have refused to give Compulsion Games’ We Happy Few a classification, effectively banning the game completely in Australia.
We Happy Few takes place in a dystopian world where citizens are forced to take a drug known as Joy and independent thought is abolished. Though the ACB didn’t initially say why they refused classification, people could easily surmise that the drug use was a factor. On the ACB website, it’s noted that We Happy Few violated the following:
“depict, express or otherwise deal with 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.”
Compulsion issued a statement following this ruling, stating that they’re looking to appeal the decision made by the ACB whilst making the case that the point of the game is to rebel against using the drug: ” It’s a society that is forcing its citizens to take Joy, and the whole point of the game is to reject this programming and fight back.”
They’ll be working with the Board to try and get them to change their minds, but they’ve already said they will ensure refunds will be given to any affected fans and that they’ll work with Kickstarter backers in the event that the appeal falls through.
This was a couple of days ago, but things took a more interesting turn today, as the ACB have issued a new statement explaining in much further detail the reasoning behind their ruling. As you would expect, it’s the use of Joy that’s the problem, though perhaps not in the way you might think:
In the Board’s opinion, the game’s drug-use mechanic making game progression less difficult constitutes an incentive or reward for drug-use and therefore, the game exceeds the R 18+ classification that states, “drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted”.
Therefore, the game warrants being Refused Classification.
You can read the full statement over at PC Gamer, where it was supplied, but the crux of the argument is that you can take Joy in order to avoid confrontations with NPCs, which therefore encourages drug use. The board points specifically to an NPC named The Doctor, who raises an alarm if you haven’t taken Joy.
From what we know about the game, it seems like the ACB have fundamentally misunderstood the core themes of We Happy Few. It’s about not conforming to the norms of an oppressive society and ultimately choosing to rebel against the consumption of Joy.
Of course, the ACB have a history of cracking down on drug use and other offences in games, famously forcing Fallout 3 to change the morphine item to Med-X. Saints Row IV and State of Decay also had to censor their games after input from the ACB.
We’ve got our fingers crossed that Compulsion will be able to convince the ACB to overturn their decision, but failing that, they could always just import the game like they’ve been doing for years anyway. If anything, this development has probably helped raise We Happy Few’s profile in Australia. Good job ACB.
What do you think about the Board’s ruling on We Happy Few? Sound off in the comments below, and check out our list of the best free-to-play games on Xbox One. No, it’s not related, but take your Joy and read it anyway. That’s an order.
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