Silent Hill f, the next entry in Konami’s long-running survival horror franchise, hasn’t been banned in Australia – at least not yet.
In a now-deleted page for the sequel dated March 14, the Australian Government‘s Department of Communication and the Arts had listed the series’ upcoming eighth mainline entry as having a “Refused Classification” status which, per the ratings board’s description, is applied to any films or video games that “cannot be sold, hired, advertised or legally imported in Australia.”
Furthermore, the RC rating applies to any material that “contains content outside generally-accepted community standards and exceeds what can be included in the R 18+ and X 18+ ratings.”
The Classification Board responded on March 24 with a statement clarifying the situation. Per Stevivor, it said:
“Silent Hill f is not currently classified as ‘Refused Classification’ in Australia. The 14 March 2025 entry on the National Classification Database has been removed. A classification decision will be published to the National Classification Database ahead of the game’s release.”
The original classification rating prior to its removal.While good news, it’s worth pointing out that the above doesn’t necessarily mean Silent Hill f couldn’t still warrant an RC rating by Australia’s Classification Board.
Australia is known to take a hard-line stance against any films or video game content that depicts extreme gore or violence, especially if it’s of a sexual nature or involves minors, and this isn’t the first time a Silent Hill game has been banned in the country.
Related
Silent Hill: Homecoming was refused classification for its initial 2008 release and only granted an MA 15+ rating after certain scenes were censored.
In its own rating, the ESRB issued a Mature 17+ designation, describing instances of the “players’ character getting impaled in the neck and/or getting their faces ripped apart,” a “character burned alive inside a cage,” and “a woman branded by a hot iron.”
In a warning on the game’s official website issued by Konami, Silent Hill f contains “depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence.”