Starfield rating confirms you can’t have sex in space
Don't expect to be strapping in to feel the gs in zero-g. An official rating for Starfield confirms you won't be having sex in space during Bethesda's sci-fi juggernaut.
Gamers have developed a weird obsession with romance options, and while the age of the characters in Hogwarts Legacy rightly meant you weren't able to woo NPCs, Bethesda's history of games has us expecting a little nooky in Starfield.
You can't have sex in Starfield
The official Australian Classification board has awarded Starfield an 18+ rating. It's landed in the "strong impact" category for violence, whereas language and themes are "moderate," nudity is "very mild" and sex falls comes under "none."
Interestingly, the 18+ award comes from its heavy use of drugs. We're not sure what that entails, but with this space-age adventure, we're imagining some Cyberpunk 2077-inspired narcotics. Interstingly, Fallout 4 was given a 15+ rating due to moderate violence - suggesting Starfield will be a bloodier affair.
Speaking of Fallout 4, the 2015 game was marked under "moderate impact" for sex. It's unclear why the developer has dialled up the drugs and stripped back the sex, but with the debate around content and gratuitous content raging, this could have something to do with it.
Players react to Starfield's lack of sex
We didn't realise this would be such an issue, but over on the game's official Reddit, the debate over sex (or lack of) became a big talking point.
When one player suggested Nexus Mods will allow some more raunchy romance options, someone else wrote, "Yeah, give it a week or two and we will probably get like 4 different mods with numerous plug-ins that add sex to the game."
Another joked, "The first two starfield mods will be big titty and titty physics," while a third concluded, "Starfield will sell with no issue whether it has sex in it or not. The majority of gamers aren't lonely people who rely on pixels to get any sort of gratification, that’s just an outdated stereotype."
Namely, fans pointed to how CD Projekt Red titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher have been known for their X-rated content. The Australian ratings board is apparently notoriously strict with drugs, so we'll have to wait and see whether other territories will slap Starfield with the same adult rating.
To be honest, how many people are picking up a game in 2023 for its sexual content? For now, those thirsty few will have to get their rocks off another way.