Everyone knows that Grand Theft Auto 6 is a game made for adults, with all sorts of explicit themes and content expected from the latest entry into the franchise. Whether it’s violence, drug use, or vulgar language, Rockstar Games sure doesn’t shy away from the harshness of reality.
That said, it’s the sexual content in GTA 6 that’s proving difficult to navigate for some, with South Korean regulators having struggled to settle on a rating for the game. So much so, in fact, that it came incredibly close to a rating refusal during its classification review, largely thanks to the game featuring “far too much genital exposure.”
Grand Theft Auto 6 Almost Faced Rating Refusal In South Korea
Thanks to a report from Inven Global, we now have a closer look at the rating review process for Grand Theft Auto 6 in South Korea, where the game came surprisingly close to receiving an outright refusal of classification.
The country’s regulators reportedly postponed their decision twice, with the primary concern being what was described as “out-of-context genital nudity.” During the first review on September 10, the committee was split evenly, with three votes for an Adults Only rating and three for Refusal. More than two weeks later, the committee was provided with a playable build of the game, although the second review was delayed to allow for “sufficient gameplay examination.”
It wasn’t until a third and final meeting that a decision was reached, with a nine-member committee ultimately voting 8-1 in favour of an Adults Only rating. Interestingly, the game’s sexual content appears to have been the biggest point of contention, with one particularly notable quote from the initial review stating:
It is not that genital exposure is completely forbidden, but it has never appeared this frequently without context.
The concerns didn’t end there, either. During the second review, another member reportedly described the game as having “far too much genital exposure,” while one committee member suggested that “the publisher keeps pushing the line.”
Several similar comments appear throughout the proceedings, highlighting just how much scrutiny GTA 6’s explicit content received. However, after examining a playable build, regulators were able to establish that the scenes involving genital exposure did not feature sexual interaction.
Interestingly, the fact that other international rating boards had already classified GTA 6 also appears to have influenced the final decision. According to the proceedings, one member described it as a “burden if South Korea alone holds back the rating,” suggesting that the country’s regulators were conscious of potentially being the only major territory to refuse classification.
Beyond the controversy surrounding the game’s explicit content, the proceedings also touched on other aspects of GTA 6, including the enormous scale of Leonida’s map and the fact that the main storyline takes dozens of hours to complete.
Ultimately, GTA 6 has secured an Adults Only rating in South Korea, narrowly avoiding an outright refusal. While the decision means the game can proceed towards release in the country, the lengthy review process and numerous concerns raised by regulators further reinforce the expectation that Rockstar’s next Grand Theft Auto will be its most mature and explicit entry to date.
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Charlie is one of Insider Gaming's Guides Writers who's been in the gaming industry for a little over a year. Unfortunately for him, he enjoys every video game genre out…
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