The shockingly controversial mass murder simulation game, Hatred, has been granted an AO (Adults Only) rating by the ESRB. This marks the second video game in history to receive the fatal age restriction for violence and foul language alone, with the original PlayStation’s unreleased Thrill Kill being the first.
On Destructive Creations’ – the developers behind Hatred – forum, a representative had the following to say:
“Well, I’m not quite convinced why Hatred got AO rating while it lacks any sexual content, but it’s still some kind of achievement to have the second game in history getting AO rating for violence and harsh language only.”
Though they disagree with the ruling, they have been more than cooperative with the ESRB, who have explained reasoning behind the AO rating.
While an AO rating is essentially a death warrant for any video game developer, some titles do get edited down to warrant an M (Mature) rating, which enables them to be released on console. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one such an example, as is Manhunt 2. The latter was granted an uncensored release for PC and given the AO rating.
Hatred has become a hot topic in the indie gaming community as of late. Yet despite the controversy (perhaps even because of it), it has become one of the most requested titles in Steam’s Greenlight community. Valve actually pulled the game from Steam for an entire day before reinstating it and releasing an apology.
Hatred is expected to be released sometime this year, with the developers hoping to push for an M rating for future console versions.