Hotline Miami 2 Banned in Australia [UPDATE]

Update 1: Developer Dennaton Games has responded to the ban, writing in a statement that it feels the Australian Classification Board has "stretched the facts".

Update 2: Warning: The described scene may disturb some readers.

A report sent to Kotaku Australia detailed the scene featured in the game which resulted in a refusal of classification for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. According to the Kotaku, the report describes a part of the game in which "the protagonist character bursts into what appears to be a movie set and explicitly kills 4 people, who collapse to the floor in a pool of copious blood, often accompanied by blood splatter. After stomping on the head of a fifth male character, he strikes a female character wearing red underwear. She is knocked to the floor and is viewed lying face down in a pool of copious blood. The male character is viewed with his pants halfway down, partially exposing his buttocks. He is viewed pinning the female down by the arms and lying on top of her thrusting, implicitly raping her (either rear entry or anally) while her legs are viewed kicking as she struggles beneath him. This visual depiction of implied sexual violence is emphasised by it being mid-screen, with a red backdrop pulsating and the remainder of the screen being surrounded by black."

The original story follows below.

Top-down 2D action game Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has been refused classification in Australia, effectively banning it from sale in the country.

The Australian Classification Board (via Player Attack) has written that the game was refused classification under the National Classification Code, Computer Games Table, as computer games that "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."

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number joins Saints Row IV, State of Decay, and South Park: Stick of Truth in being initially refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. Modified versions of the latter games were subsequently submitted to the board and granted ratings, the highest of which is the R18+ adult rating for video games. It is not known if developer Devolver Digital will resubmit a modified version of the game to appeal the rating.

The first Hotline Miami game was granted a MA15+ rating by the ACB, which allegedly "took forever," resulting in a delayed release in New Zealand. GameSpot has reached out to the Australian Classification Board for comment.