Characters gathered around a strangely elongated white-suited man in Hotline Miami 2

Hotline Miami 2 Taken Off Aussie PlayStation Store Thanks to Decade-Old Rating Issue

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Published: October 9, 2024 9:35 AM

Hotline Miami 2 has been removed from the Australian PlayStation Store after Sony apparently remembered that the game was refused a classification from the country's ratings board.

As pointed out by Press Start, Australian PlayStation users have been receiving notices informing them that the game is no longer available for purchase or download since it "has not received a proper rating from the Australian Classification Board".

Apparently, Hotline Miami 2 was made available via PlayStation Plus Extra a few months back, and it was also released in Australia as part of a collection containing the two games, but it seems nobody bothered to make sure the second game's rating was intact first.

The player scoring a kill in Hotline Miami 2
Hotline Miami 2 was refused classification in Australia.

Those who downloaded the game directly as part of the aforementioned collection are getting a notice that confirms a refund, which could take a month or two to appear on a bank statement.

If you downloaded Hotline Miami 2 via PlayStation Plus, on the other hand, you'll get a more curt message that simply confirms the game has been removed from the lineup, as well as the libraries of those who downloaded it.

Hotline Miami 2 was originally released in 2015. It was refused classification by the Australian game ratings board, and according to Kotaku, that refusal was due to the presence of a scene that depicted sexual assault.

The original Hotline Miami wasn't refused classification, though; it was granted an MA15+ rating for "strong impact" violence, as well as "mild impact" drug use and "moderate impact" themes and language.

The player shooting an enemy in a psychedelic house in Hotline Miami
You can still pick up the original Hotline Miami in Australia, assuming you're over 15.

The Australian classifications board is known for its strict attitudes towards games. Many games have been refused classification in Australia, including RimWorld (which was later unbanned and classified R18+), Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, and The Medium, developed by Silent Hill 2 remake studio Bloober.

Unfortunately, it looks like if you're in Australia, you won't be able to play Hotline Miami 2 on your PlayStation anytime soon. At least you can still pick up the original, though!


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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for several years, and in those years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph