The rumors you hear are true: Halloween: The Game, coming out this September, has essentially been banned in two countries — Australia and New Zealand.
Okay, cue the jokes, because surely you’re thinking the game was banned for the bloody depictions of gore, the endless slashing of Michael Myers, or perhaps just the generally inhuman nature of all those murder scenes.
Nope.
Marijuana.
The official Halloween: The Game account announced that the upcoming video game has been denied classification by the Australian Classification Board. And without a classification, the game cannot legally be sold physically or digitally in Australia … with the decision also keeping it off the market in New Zealand.
And apparently the problem isn’t Michael Myers stalking people through Haddonfield with a giant knife. The problem is a controlled substance featured in the game … reportedly cannabis, which can actually be used by players as part of the gameplay.
So apparently Michael Myers can stalk you, slash you and brutally murder you, but heaven forbid somebody lights up a joint while he’s doing it.
The game is still scheduled to arrive September 8 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, but Halloween fans Down Under are apparently going to be left out of Haddonfield for the time being.
Which brings us to a much bigger question:
What does this mean for GTA VI?
Because if the drug use in Halloween: The Game was enough to run afoul of Australia’s classification rules, the government censors Down Under probably haven’t seen anything yet.
And suddenly Michael Myers might be the least of their problems.
