Rockstar To Release Edited GTA IV For Australia

Rockstar has reportedly developed a special, more heavily-edited version of Grand Theft Auto IV specifically for Australia in order to meet ratings requirements. Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification had given the title an MA15+ rating due to "strong violence, strong coarse language, drug and sexual references." GTA IV has been rated R18+ by the BBFC, the OFLC of New Zealand and by Germany's ratings board, and M17+ by the ESRB. Australia's OFLC does not currently contain an R18+ category, so Rockstar would have needed to further edit the game for it to receive a rating in the region. A Rockstar spokesperson confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that this was indeed the case, though the unnamed spokesperson declined to reveal what edits had been made or specify content removed.