Mystery Rockstar Game ‘Bonaire’ Banned In Australia

Australia’s been on a bit of a ban frenzy of late, but the latest slapping of the RC sticker might be the most intriguing to date.

Amidst the chaos of a string of refused classifications being handed out to Hotline Miami, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, We Happy Few and the ongoing drama with DayZ, another title was banned through the automated IARC classification process.

What’s interesting about this one is that it’s from Rockstar Games, with the title simply listed as Bonaire:

I couldn’t find any listings for Bonaire or other relevant applications from Rockstar or Take Two on ratings agency boards in South Korea, Europe’s PEGI system, or Taiwan’s Game Software Rating Information. The application was filed through the IARC process, and apart from the refused classification rating, there’s not much else to go on.

The only potential hint might be in the name itself. Bonaire is an island in the Caribbean, a region which has appeared in Red Dead Redemption 2 before. The fifth chapter of the game takes place in Guarma, and while you can’t return to Guarma by normal means once you’ve finished the chapter enterprising players found ways to glitch their way back to the tropical land with a canoe.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Are Using A Canoe To Escape The World The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is large. Though after you spend enough time running around the deserts and swamps of RDR2, you might want to take a vacation. Maybe go visit a new exotic land? Some crafty players have figured out how to do just that and all it takes is a canoe and some patience. Read more

So there’s some logic behind the Caribbean being the next location for Red Dead Online. I reached out to Rockstar’s Australian team for confirmation and clarification, but received no response by the time of publication. The Classification Board also hasn’t responded to queries about the title, or supplied reasoning for its ban, but it’s understandable they might be a bit delayed today given everything.

The RC rating makes Bonaire — whatever this is — the second game under the Rockstar Games name to be refused classification in Australia, unless you include San Andreas‘s revoked rating following the Hot Coffee scandal. The only other Rockstar game directly given an RC in Australia was Manhunt, which was banned following a review from the Federal Attorney-General.