Before the new rating, though, any game deemed not suitable for 15-year-olds could be rated ' R' and banned outright.

In 2013, the Australian government introduced a new R18+ rating (via GameSpot AU) that allowed for a wider range of titles to release uncensored, as the previous highest rating was MA15+.

Related: Grand Theft Auto's Hot Coffee Mod Controversy ExplainedĪustralian ratings classifications have historically put video games under more scrutiny than other countries, banning at one point games like Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead 2. One of the most infamous, for example, is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' ' Hot Coffee' controversy, which led the ESRB to temporarily change the game's rating to Adult-Only after a popular mod reintroduced a sex minigame cut from the official release. Ever since GTA 3 brought the series into 3D, Grand Theft Auto controversies have continually sprung up, usually related to the games' depictions of violent or sexual content. Grand Theft Auto, as a series, has flirted with controversy for years. Australia's version of GTA 4 featured less blood and more subdued sexual content, until a DLC undid the changes (but resulted in new censorship in an entirely different country).

The Australian Classification Board is notorious for its restrictions on mature content in video games, so it was inevitable that Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 4 would be toned down as it approached its 2008 release in the country.

Gta 4 mods steam