If you've been hoping for a RimWorld console version, you could be in luck. The Australian ratings board has refused classification for a version of RimWorld listed for "multi platform" media, so although Australia may be out of luck, the rest of the world could be getting RimWorld on console soon.
What do we know about a potential RimWorld console version?
This news comes via a new listing over on the official Australian classification board website. The listing classifies RimWorld as "RC", or "refused classification"; the board has decided that the game "offend[s] against the standards of morality, decency and propriety" generally held by Australian adults. Interestingly, under the Media Type heading, RimWorld is listed as "multi platform"; PC games don't need classification, so this phrase points to RimWorld arriving on other platforms, and console versions always require classification by the platform owners. The listing also adds British studio Double Eleven as a publisher; presumably, Double Eleven will be helping with porting work on consoles, but we're not sure yet.
The board doesn't specify exactly which elements of RimWorld are most offensive, unfortunately. However, it's fair to say the Australian ratings board is more stringent than many others. Earlier this year, Toby Fox's Deltarune was reclassified due to its use of the word "piss". Elsewhere, games like thoughtful RPG Disco Elysium and atmospheric survival horror The Medium have previously either been refused classification or banned outright in Australia. The listing for RimWorld makes reference to "sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena", and it's difficult to know in which of those areas RimWorld proved particularly egregious. We've reached out to both Ludeon and Double Eleven for clarification on this story, as well as whether they'll be making any changes to adhere to Australian classification rules.
What is RimWorld?
RimWorld is a colony-based survival sim described by developer Ludeon as "a story generator". Taking inspiration from properties like Firefly, Dune, and Dwarf Fortress, RimWorld asks you to build colonies, defend them from pirates and wildlife, and watch as organic stories and relationships involving your colonists unfold. Across an entire generated planet, you'll tame animals, tend to wounds, and watch as your colony battles the elements, resource management, and potentially its own deep-seated issues.
You can grab RimWorld on PC right now via Steam. The game is still regularly being updated, too; late last year, Ludeon introduced a new update that brought big changes to the biosculpter system and more. A game this complex and dense would take a lot of work to port to consoles, but it looks like Ludeon and Double Eleven are making it work, so hopefully we get to play the RimWorld console ports soon. We'll bring you more on this, including which platforms we can expect RimWorld to arrive on, as soon as we get it.
