Halloween: The Game will sell digitally in New Zealand after all

Halloween: The Game will be sold digitally in New Zealand after all, IllFonic has confirmed, correcting the impression left by an earlier statement that folded the country into Australia’s classification refusal. Eurogamer reports that the studio has now set out which ratings body applies where.

The Australian Classification Board refused IllFonic’s asymmetric horror game a rating earlier this month over the depiction of a controlled substance, widely reported as a cannabis mechanic tied to the game’s civilian side. At the time, the studio said the decision meant it could not sell the physical or digital product in either Australia or New Zealand.

Two ratings systems, two outcomes

In practice, that means the Australian refusal blocks the physical release across both territories but does not reach New Zealand’s own digital classification, which falls under a separate system. New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature Classification confirmed in an emailed response that the game was never submitted for classification there and that no local ruling bars its release, adding that digital-only releases can legally be sold in the country without classification, even though some platforms choose to seek one anyway.

What players in each country get

Australia remains fully blocked, digitally and physically, unless IllFonic resubmits or amends the game. New Zealand players will be able to buy Halloween: The Game digitally when it launches on September 8 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, with the physical edition following elsewhere on October 6.

IllFonic has said its adaptation recreates the atmosphere of the 1978 film, with multiple maps set across Haddonfield locations and a soundtrack inspired by John Carpenter’s score. Alongside the asymmetrical multiplayer mode the game is built around, it also carries an offline single-player story mode played against bots.