As seen in the image below, a Refused Classification listing for We Happy Few has appeared on the official website for Australia’s Classification Board, as Compulsion Games’ forthcoming release has been refused a rating due to the Games 1(a) clause. For the sake of clarity, this particular clause is defined with the terminology of “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.’”
Interestingly enough, Kotaku Australia received a copy of the decision report from the Classification Board, with it stating that the use of the drug Joy in We Happy Few was one of the main reasons as to why the title was denied classification within the country. The report states, “Computer games will be refused classification if they include or contain ‘drug use related to incentives and rewards’.”
For those unaware, the concept of taking Joy is a central theme and gameplay mechanic in We Happy Few, as it involves citizens being required to take the drug on a regular basis. Not taking it makes surviving in the game a lot more difficult, as NPCs will be able to detect players more easily without the drug. In fact, certain NPCs will have the capacity to immediately determine whether or not the main character has not taken their mandated dosage of Joy, leading to potential conflicts and repercussions with the game’s local authority.
All things considered, while Australian fans will surely be disappointed to learn of We Happy Few not being available in their country, they likely won’t be surprised due to this having been par for the course when it comes to the nation’s Classification Board. After all, the aforementioned clause was previously used as a means to ban such titles as Bethesda’s Fallout 3, as players could take substances called “Chems” that would both positively and negatively affect the protagonist’s stats in a variety of scenarios for a temporary stretch. Although the post-apocalyptic action-RPG was initially prohibited from sale in Australia, it was eventually unbanned after a revised version of the title was resubmitted, so the same could possibly occur for We Happy Few.
We Happy Few is currently scheduled for wide release – save for Australia – during summer 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Australian Classification, Kotaku AU (1), (2)
