Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact was refused an age rating in Australia by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts’ Classification Board on Nov. 18, banning the upcoming fighting game from releasing in the country in all but name. Polygon has learned the issue was over “implied sexual violence” to minors.
At the time of the announcement, Australia’s Classification Board website noted that Nen x Impact was considered “Refused Classification” status, which indicates something in the game falls “outside generally-accepted community standards” and surpasses even what can be included in the country’s most extreme R18+ and X18+ ratings.
A spokesperson from the Australian Classification Board responded to comment from Polygon on Dec. 5 to explain its classification of Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact, saying the game “contains a scene of a visual depiction of implied sexual violence, where an adult male exposes himself to persons under the age of 18 years.”
Australia has long been known for banning games with content it deems extreme. The Parliament of Australia approved the creation of the R18+ category in 2012 and it was applied to Grand Theft Auto 5 a year later for “High Impact Drug Use” and strong themes, language, sex, violence, and nudity.
While it’s easy to understand why a ratings board may find issues with adult-oriented releases like Saint’s Row 4 and Hotline Miami 2, it remains unclear why Nen x Impact exceeded the censor threshold. (The spokesperson did not offer specific details or scenes that prompted the decision.) But the Australian Classification Board’s description calls to mind a moment from the manga and anime’s Greed Island arc wherein Hisoka, a clown of ill repute, is confronted by child protagonists Gon and Killua while bathing in a lake. Hisoka has no qualms about turning and flashing them with his full frontal nudity. Gon and Killua are obviously made uncomfortable by the encounter and another character, Goreinu, calls Hisoka a pervert, but they pretty much carry on the conversation from there as if nothing weird happened.
“The Board noted in its report that the implied sexual violence is implicitly condoned as appropriate due to a lack of resolution of the act through the game’s narrative and that it is not justified by context,” the board’s official statement adds. “Implied sexual violence that is visually depicted, interactive, not justified by context, or related to incentives or rewards is not permitted.”
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact was originally planned for a 2024 launch on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC, but was officially pushed back this September to 2025 to allow the developers the extra time needed to implement a more solid infrastructure for online play known as rollback netcode.
Update (Dec. 5): After publication of the original story, Polygon received a statement Australian Classification Board regarding the explanation for its ruling on Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact. We have updated the story to reflect the new details.