Online auction site eBay will be implementing a ban on "adult" video games from July 15, as part of a wider initiative by the marketplace to prohibit the sale of mature content across as books, anime, comics, magazines, and art that contains "sexually oriented" materials.

This ban won't just apply to old copies of Leisure Suit Larry: Magnum Cum Laude uncut PC edition, but all games with a "rating of X, XXX, R18, or unrated for an adults-only audience," eBay explained in a blog post.

An adults-only rating is a rare restriction, usually reserved for video games that knowingly push the boundary of good taste, such as infamously violent titles like Hatred and Manhunt 2, which earned Adults Only classifications from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. More modern games with adult and violent content such as Mortal Kombat 11 and Red Dead Redemption 2 have instead received a Mature 17+ rating from the ESRB and will still be allowed on the US version of eBay.

As Kotaku noted, this new rule won't apply to games in Australia rated R18--something which Disco Elysium finally earned after its Final Cut edition was initially refused classification--and only games "classified as RC (refused classification), X or created for an adult audience," will be banned on the continent.

Posted: May 20, 2021 4:41 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ebay-is-banning-the-sale-of-adult-video-games-from-july/1100-6491612/