{
  "id": 2812864,
  "title": "Illicit deeds have just gotten a new Halloween video game banned in Australia – and it’s not because of the violence",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/illicit-deeds-have-just-gotten-a-new-halloween-video-game-banned-in-2812864",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-23T15:00:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Guardian",
    "slug": "the-guardian",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/aug/24/michael-myers-halloween-video-game-banned-in-australia-drugs"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The ban of the video game Halloween: The Game in Australia has raised concerns among academics and a former director of the Classification Board. The game, developed by US company Illfonic, features brutal killings and gruesome methods such as stomping a player’s head through a toilet seat or frying their brain by throwing them through a television screen. Despite these violent elements, the game has been refused classification, effectively banning it from sale in Australia. The reason for the ban, however, is not the violence or murders depicted in the game. Instead, the Classification Board has cited the game's incentivized drug use as the reason for its ban, highlighting a set of standards that appear to be inconsistent and incoherent.",
  "summary": "Academics – and a former director of Australia’s Classification Board – say Halloween: The Game’s ban due to ‘incentivised drug use’ highlights an incoherent set of standards Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Halloween’s Michael Myers is one of film’s most feared boogeymen, responsible for some of the most brutal on-screen deaths in horror cinema. US video game…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian Australia",
        "title": "Illicit deeds have just gotten a new Halloween video game banned in Australia – and it’s not because of the violence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/illicit-deeds-have-just-gotten-a-new-halloween-video-game-banned-in",
        "published": "2026-08-23T15:00:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}