Zombie Survival Video Game DayZ Banned In Australia Because It Features Cannabis

Australia can be a funny country sometimes; banning things for what appears to be no good reason.

While it's clear that some types of fruit, meat or dairy needs to undergo quarantine checks, there are other things that don't get let in and the reasons why are bizarre.

That's what is happening at the moment with a video game being refused classification.

Zombie survival game DayZ is a third-person shooter that essentially focuses on staying alive. You're meant to explore the open world, help others who need it and try to kill as many zombies as possible.

While it doesn't sound like anything we haven't seen before, it seems like one tiny aspect of the game has resulted in it being banned from the Land Down Under.

According to Game Rant, game developers announced it was going to add cannabis to the game but it's still not done so yet. There's no word on how the player obtains it or what effect it has but it's been in the making for a while.

It's this feature that's caused the Classification Board to refuse giving the game a rating, something a game needs in order to be sold, because it has 'illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards'.

via GIPHY

DayZ has released a statement saying: "The Australian player base is a big and very important part of our community. At the moment we are looking for the best solution to keep the game on the Australian market and pass the classification according to all regulations."

People are still able to play the game if they've already got it, but if you were planning on downloading it, think again. It's been pulled from digital storefronts, with no indication when it will be reinstated.

It's interesting because cannabis isn't even in the game yet but the Classifications Board reckons even mentioning that it could be introduced is enough to get it banned.

The Aussie Classifications Board is no stranger to banning games for illicit content.

Fallout 3 was refused certification because it had cannabis in the game. Left 4 Dead 2 had to be censored for five years in Australia because of risqué content and Saints Row 4 received an all-out ban. Dennaton Games' Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number copped a ban as well because it had violent sexual content. Imagine if Grand Theft Auto tried to get classification in this day.

Featured Image Credit: Bohemia Interactive

Topics: Technology, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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