Update: Hatred Is Now Region Locked In Australia

Hatred, the game kicking up controversy for being all about killing civilians running away from you, has been blocked from purchase in Germany and Australia. The region lock is self-imposed..

In the top-down, twin-stick shooter, a hateful protagonist goes on a “genocide crusade”, trying to kill many civilians as possible. The game features graphic execution animations, and environmental destruction.

While initially stating its opposition to censorship, developer Destructive Creations has enforced the region lock both on Steam and its own website.

The studio has typically been honest with its following in the past, even about its own mistakes. But with no mention of the region lock apart from a one-line notice on its purchasing page, this particular stuff-up has been swept under the rug.

As of this morning, trying to navigate to Steam’s Hatred page will return this notice for Australians:

The notice on Destructive Creations’ purchasing page is as follows:

While the Classification Board has no record of a submission, it would be far from the first time an online game has been sold in Australia without being classified.

Destructive Creations has stated that the game is a response to the current wave of political correctness in gaming, and has revelled in controversy since the release of its first tralier — but we may have finally found a controversy it wants to shy away from.

Update

Destructive Creations has self-imposed the region lock, both on Steam and on their website. It appears the proper channels weren’t attempted, or indeed, doing what most games do and simply releasing without worrying about it.

Shortly after the above post, a developer on the Destructive Creations forum suggested that those affected use a VPN.

Kotaku commenter woody28 asked Destructive Creations on its Facebook page if it would be attempting a release in Australia, and received this response: