South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee has issued God of War Ragnarok the agency’s highest rating, the “18” rating, which prohibits youths from the game. The 18 rating was issued based on three different qualities. First, God of War Ragnarok features “Excessive Violence” in the form of blood and damage performed with realistic weapons including knives and axes during battle. Suffice to say, God of War Ragnarok is going to be like prior God of War games in terms of violence.

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Second, God of War Ragnarok features “Excessive Vulgarity and Profanity,” throughout the game. God of War featured a significant amount of dialogue and it sounds like God of War Ragnarok will as well. Only this time around, one or more characters appear to curse quite a bit. Specific words mentioned include “F***” and “D***,” for what it’s worth. It should be noted that 2018’s God of War was also flagged for “Strong Language” by the ESRB in the United States, so this isn’t necessarily an oddity.

Lastly, South Korea tagged God of War Ragnarok for “Direct Drug Expression.” In God of War Ragnarok, players will apparently experience characters “drinking alcohol in pubs.” These kinds of ratings typically involve the consumption of alcohol, as opposed to just the presence. Whether it’s significant to God of War Ragnarok’s story remains to be seen.

While the details of God of War Ragnarok’s rating in South Korea are intriguing on their own, the bigger story is that the game is far enough along in development to receive a rating. Ratings don’t mean that a game is finished, of course. But ratings do show that the game’s publisher is taking a significant step toward release. An interesting comparison is Horizon Forbidden West, which launched three months after receiving its rating in South Korea. Of course, Horizon Forbidden West’s release date had been announced months prior to it receiving a rating, too.

God of War fans are ultimately in the same position they were before the South Korean rating was issued. They’re hopeful God of War Ragnarok is still on track for 2022, but waiting for official confirmation from Sony. This news is still encouraging, though. Here’s hoping an official announcement comes within the next month or two.

God of War Ragnarok releases in 2022 on PS4 and PS5.

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