The Medium Has Now Received Classification in Australia

Last month the Xbox Series X console exclusive title, The Medium, was refused classification in Australia. This threw into doubt whether Australians would get the game at all, but thankfully the classification board has now passed judgement on The Medium.

Bloober Team remotely submitted The Medium for classification earlier in the year where the game was subsequently hit with a refused classification rating. The decision for this was unclear and no reason as to why was given by the developer or the board.

Fast forward a couple of months and on December 22 The Medium was granted a rating by the Australian classification board. The game has received a strict R18+ classification. The board cites that the game contains high impact violence and references to sexual violence. The Medium also received a strong impact (MA15+) rating for themes and moderate impact for language.

The Medium was set to be one of the first Xbox Series X/S console exclusives this year. But Bloober Team delayed its release to January 28, 2021, to avoid certain other games releasing in December (hint: Cyberpunk). Maybe that worked out in its favour though, as it allowed more time for the game to be rated for release here.

It’s unclear at present what changed behind the scenes for The Medium to suddenly be classified. However, it’s not unheard of for developers to make mistakes on the online IARC submission form. It’s possible that’s exactly what happened here and those mistakes have now been rectified. A good thing too, because it would be a shame for Australia to miss out on a game as unique as this one.

The Medium is described as a psychological horror, with an interesting premise that requires players to explore and survive two in-game worlds that are rendered simultaneously.

The synopsis for The Medium on the Xbox store describes:

Become a medium living in two different worlds: the real one and the spirit one. As a medium with access to both worlds, you have a wider perspective and can see more clearly that there’s no one simple truth to what others perceive. Nothing is what it seems, everything has another side. The Medium features a “dual” soundtrack by Bloober Team’s Arkadiusz Reikowski and legendary composer Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame.

You can also check out the trailer below.

While the game gives off definite horror vibes, it’s hard to see why it would be refused classification in normal circumstances. Although it does apparently include high impact and sexual violence, which is a fine line to walk.

Now that the game has received its Australian classification it should be all set for its release on Xbox Series X/S and PC on January 28, 2021.