Arkham Knight Slapped With an 'M for Mature' Rating

Rocksteady has announced that their final Batman game, Arkham Knight, has been given an M for Mature rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Meaning, in the United States, it is illegal to sell anyone under the age of 17 this Batman game. This is pretty surprising, considering Arkham Asylum and Arkham City both received T for Teen ratings.

Yet, Rocksteady did not aim for this. It wasn't a conscious creative decision to go a more mature route with the narrative or subject matter (although the game is implied to be darker than the previous two entries in the series, for what that's worth).

Here's Sefton Hill, founder of Rocksteady and creative director on Arkham Knight:

"From our point of view, we never wrote it or made it with a rating in mind. We never did that in the previous two games... We just felt that this is the story that we really wanted to tell.

I'm not blind to the fact that [the M rating] does mean some fans will miss out... I don't want to be oblivious to that fact. It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn't believe in to keep the game 'mass market' or enable it for more people. We feel that's the wrong way to go about it. We said we love the story and we don't want to jepoardize that."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/24/batman-arkham-knight-is-rated-m

UPDATE: ESRB has confirmed the rating, and said it's at an M for "Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, and Violence."

Let's compare that to the other Arkham games in the series:

• Arkham Asylum, rated T: Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
• Arkham City, rated T: Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violence
• Arkham Origins, rated T: Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

So based on these descriptions, it seems that Asylum and City had mild language, but suggestive themes. Yet Origins had language, but only mild suggestive themes.

Seeing as how Arkham Knight has both language and suggestive themes (with nary a "mild" in sight) that may be what earned it an M rating this time around.

http://kotaku.com/news-that-the-next-batman-arkham-game-will-be-the-first-1687704583

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So how about you guys? Are you one of the unlucky young Batman fans who is affected by this news, and now your ability to play this game is in jeapordy? Or are you old enough to where this can only be a positive in terms of not sacrificing narrative for an arbitrary standard of graphic content?

I feel it's necessary, seeing as how the main antagonist is my boy Jonathan Crane.

CoD and GTA don't seem to have a problem with sales, and they've been M for quite a while. Kids just get their parents to buy it, lol.

I have no problem with this whatsoever!

Wouldn't this be the first M-rated superhero game (for a superhero that doesn't kill that is)?

It's M rated to keep the kids from seeing how awful the Arkham Knight is.

I suppose so. I mean, Wolverine got an M game, but he doesn't have any real qualms about killing.

Im ok with the rating I'm more hyped now. I wonder what happens in the game to make it have this rating.

I'm still down

There's also a new trailer and Firefly is in it.

@smash_brawler: actually the first m rated superhero game is the punisher game for ps2

@batmanx2005 said:

Also, I'm not sure if I'd consider Punisher to be a "superhero".

My thoughts exactly! The interview clearly states they wrote the story with no rating in mind, so I'm happy they aren't trying to either intentionally lighten or darken it. They are just letting the writer's tell the story THEY want to tell.

Now… I just have to get a PS4...

Can't wait for Batman's angry sex scene with Catwoman while Robin tortures the Joker GTAV-style.

I personally have no problems with this because i will be 17 in like 2 months. In fact I'm kind of excited becasue this means that the storyline will probably be darker then what is usual even for the arkham games.

M !? Why not A ?

What do they mean by, suggested themes?

@arkhamwrath: or maybe just k-a rating. I'm very surprise that back in the 90s they use rate some games with k-a ratings. Nowadays it feels like it rarley and never had it. Well the wolverine game for the good old psp is the only t rated game to have blood(I guess they are going for realistic way if somebody gets slash or stab from wolverine). Neither way it should got a t rating or k-a rating

It won't harm sales, I've went to buy an 18 game being under aged got ID just gave it to an adult who I knew (they were buying the game for their son) and the sales assistant still sold the game knowing full well it was going to minors

@batmanx2005:

I mean A as Adult :)

Mature ratings rarely affect game sale, at least nowhere near the extent they seem to do for films.

So glad I turned 17 this year! I'm surprised about the rating as well

Is catwoman in this game? If so I think her and Bruce's sexual escapades could have played a role in the rating

Bring Azreal back!!!!

The ERSB has problems. Movie ratings have problems. Age ratings in general have problems. This isn't a big problem but just proves the point that age ratings are flawed. Do I think they're necessary? Yes, one should know what they're getting into and although they're the ultimate judge, I do find a more balanced method should be created for the satisfaction of casual consumers and parents.

This isn't the first time I've seen ERSB ratings in a change throughout a series' course either. Then there are the different rating systems for different countries and the recommended age can fluctuate drastically between region.

I am happy they didn't change or water down the game to fit into a lower age raiting. Age raitings are more of a guidline anyway.

Doesn't affect me in the slightest , negativley.

This game is getting less and less appealing.

Beata

How come?

perhaps we get to off people as harley and the big red. :)

Aw man, now I can't play! Oh the horror! D:

Awesome, I can't wait!

No excuse to not see Black Mask torture :P