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Saints Row IV: Re-Elected recall in Australia after classification snafu

The PlayStation 4 version of Saints Row 4: Re-Elected is under a product recall in Australia because of "incorrect classification".

Nic Healey Senior Editor / Australia
Nic Healey is a Senior Editor with CNET, based in the Australia office. His passions include bourbon, video games and boring strangers with photos of his cat.
Nic Healey
2 min read

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QVS, the current publisher of the Saints Row video game series, has issued a product recall for the PlayStation 4 version of Saints Row IV: Re-Elected because of a "manufacturing issue" that has resulted in an "incorrectly classified" version of the game being distributed.

Re-Elected is the remastered version of Saints Row IV, remade for the so-called 'next generation' consoles, the PS4 and the Xbox One.

When first released back in 2013, the game garnered a great deal of attention and controversy in Australia by becoming the first title to be refused classification after the introduction of the R18 rating for video games.

At the time the classification board said:

Saints Row IV includes interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence, which are not justified by context. In addition, the game includes elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards. Such depictions are prohibited by the computer games guidelines.

The game was subsequently edited for its Australian release with developer Deep Silver removing around 20 minutes of gameplay that focused on "the use of alien narcotics to obtain certain superpowers". The game was then classified MA15 and approved for release by the Classification Board.

In a media statement, QVS said:

A manufacturing issue has caused an incorrectly classified version of Saints Row IV: Re-Elected for our territory to be released. This strictly affects PlayStation 4 retail versions. All customers who have purchased the PlayStation 4 version of Saints Row IV: Re-Elected are encouraged to return to their retailer for a full refund.

A spokesperson confirmed that the issue affected the game itself and was not related to an incorrect classification notification on the box. They were unable to comment on which version of the game had been included on the PS4 disc. New copies with the correctly classified game will be available "soon".