Starfield to feature drug use, but no sexual intercourse

Australia classifies Starfield as suitable for adults only

The Australian Classification Board has rated Starfield as suitable for adults only, meaning that you’ll need to be at least 18 years old to purchase the upcoming space game from Bethesda.

Earlier this month Game Director Todd Howard finally revealed the release date of Starfield as September 6, 2023. This sci-fi adventure from the crew behind Skyrim and other great RPGs is going to be available exclusively on PC and Xbox Series X|S, though owners of the Xbox One should be able to access the game via cloud streaming.

We don’t know a whole lot about what Starfield will contain gameplay-wise, since Bethesda kept the news tightly under control so far. Things should change on June 11, 2023, at the latest, since a Starfield Direct showcase during E3 Digital Week 2023 is scheduled for that date.

Until then we’re forced to eat breadcrumbs like the information from the Australian Classification Board, which tells us a few things about themes and features of the game. The 18+ rating stems primarily from the fact that drug use is featured in the game, the board reveals. Violence is the second largest factor and has a “strong impact” on the rating after drug use’s “high impact”.

Themes and language had a “moderate impact” on the board’s classification decision, so expect some swearing and dark concepts to be featured.

Some enthusiasts might be disappointed by the fact that nudity only has a “very mild impact” and sex “none” – it seems like Bethesda is shying away from any more explicit content. That isn’t all too surprising considering its cultural background as a US company and the country’s reputation for prudery.

Still, CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, which contain some lewd scenes and even have explicit character creation options, managed to include that very natural part of life without any problems, so one might have hoped for a bit of courage from the developers at Bethesda as well.

Fortunately for those hoping to romance aliens and go one step further, Bethesda's RPGs have always been home to a large and talented group of modders, so we expect a fully integrated romance and intercourse system made by fans to have arrived by the end of Starfield’s release week.