Rocksteady’s long-awaited followup in the Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Knight is going to require ID to purchase. According to IGN, Rocksteady founder Sefton Hill revealed that Arkham Knight got slapped with an “M for Mature” rating by the ESRB.
This is the first Arkham Game to receive the “M” rating, and the first of Rocksteady’s Arkham titles. Despite sometimes disturbingly dark content (mostly the Joker’s brutal killings), both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City both received a “T for teen” rating by the ESRB. That’s not to mention Warner Bros. Montreal’s Batman: Arkham Origins which also got a “T.”
Related: Exclusive: First Look At Two Batman: Arkham Knight Covers
We will have to watch going forward to see if the ESRB is simply cracking down on violence of any kind, especially after giving the controversial shooter Hatred the second-ever “Adults Only” rating. As for the game itself, this could mean good things for Arkham Knight, meaning the game is using its darker tone in a more effective manner.
From a developer’s standpoint, Hill acknowledged in the interview that an entire audience is being cut off from experiencing Arkham Knight, which means fewer sales. Still, though, Batman: Arkham Knight is bound to be one of the best selling games of 2015, both because of its lineage and because of its next-gen-only status. Arkham Knight will enter the PS4 and Xbox One market as a must-have next-gen title.
Batman: Arkham Knight is set to release on June 2, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
