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Elder Scrolls Online gets Mature rating, Bethesda won't challenge ESRB

Bethesda has created the Elder Scrolls game that they want their fans to play and is "unwilling to change the game's content to achieve a different rating."

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The Elder Scrolls Online has just passed ESRB certification, but Bethesda doesn't agree with the M rating their game received. A posting on the official Bethesda Twitter account read:

"The ESRB advised us that it has given The Elder Scrolls Online a Mature rating. While we may disagree with the ESRB's determination, we do not plan to challenge that rating, and we are unwilling to change the game's content to achieve a different rating. The game we have created is the one we want our fans to be able to play."

Unlike the comparable R rating in movies, a mature rating for games isn't the same insurmountable obstacle to mainstream success (just look at the sales chart Grand Theft Auto V or Call of Duty: Ghosts), but the rating is sure to at least partially limit the Elder Scrolls Online's potential reach.

What do you think? Should Bethesda have pushed for a lower rating, or are they making the right decision in standing by the current version of their game?

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