Earlier this week, we started hearing that European horror shooter NecroVisioN was available via Steam for a discounted price, and the deal was open to Australians. Of course, Steam runs special prices all the time, but what made this one interesting is that NecroVisioN was effectively banned from Australia when it was Refused Classification back in April.

We got in touch with the Classifications Board to find out what was going on, and were pleasantly surprised with the news. Far from being an accidental inclusion, the Board decided last week (on May 14th) to classify an edited version of NecroVisioN as M, making it not recommended for gamers under 15 years of age (but no legal restrictions on this), with the consumer advice "Violence and coarse language".

Download NecroVisioN Trailer #6

In the Board’s view the original version of Necrovision contained depictions of violence that exceeded a strong playing impact and as such the computer game could not be accommodated at the MA 15+ classification and must be RC. It is unsuitable for a minor to see or play.

The devs over at The Farm 51 have been hard at work, as the Board now finds that the modified version of the game contains violence that is "moderate in playing impact" and "justified by context".


The first-person shooter, set in World War II features the inevitable German soldiers, but this time throws zombies, vampires and other monsters into the mix. It is how you dispatch these monsters that was an issue for the board initially - which seems to have been addressed:

Players frequently kill zombie enemies with gunfire or by employing dynamite or hand-to-hand, ‘melee-style’ combat. Some of the violence includes shooting with a nail gun, implied stabbing or slashing with bayonets and entrapment using barbed wire.

The Board notes that blood detail appears throughout the game as a grey “dust” effect when enemies are hit. Zombies fly into the air or their bodies jerk when bullets impact. However no further injury or wound detail is visible.

There is still "strong coarse language", which is occasionally used in a non-aggressive tone, but this can be accepted within the M classification.


The re-submission of NecroVisioN was never guaranteed - while many developers and publishers do choose to modify their game for an Australian release, this isn't necessarily always the case. The statement from the Board elaborates on this:

The Classification Board will classify a computer game in the form in which the distributor submits it. The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 does not provide the Board with the power to direct a distributor to modify a computer game.

Whether or not this newly modified version makes you any more likely to play NecroVisioN is a totally different question, but we do still have some bits and pieces about the game tucked away in the File Library, including screenshots, videos and even a playable demo.