A new Halloween video game that allows players to consume drugs to gain an advantage has been banned in Australia.Halloween: The Game, based on John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic, has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, meaning it cannot legally be sold, hired, advertised, or imported in the country. Set in Haddonfield on Halloween night in 1978, the same night depicted in Carpenter’s original film, the game allows one player to take control of Michael Myers while four others play residents of Haddonfield attempting to survive the night.In the film, Myers escapes after 15 years in the sanitarium and returns to his home town, where he begins following teenager Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. Dr Samuel Loomis, who has spent years treating Myers, also returns to Haddonfield and tries to stop him.In the multiplayer mode, four players work together to warn residents and escape while another player controls Myers and hunts them down, while the single-player story follows Myers after his escape from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium.IllFonic, the US developer behind the game, announced earlier this month that the Australian Classification Board had denied the title a rating. In a post on X, the company said: “The denial was not based on the presence of the iconic slasher, Michael Myers, or the outstanding kills that can be performed in the game, but rather the presence of a controlled substance. Unfortunately, to our disappointment (and certainly yours) this means that we cannot sell the physical or digital product in both Australia and New Zealand.”A new Halloween video game has been banned in Australia because players can consume drugs to gain an advantage in the game, rather than because of the game’s graphic violence. (IllFonic/X)In a statement last week, the Classification Board confirmed the reason for its decision, saying: “Halloween: The Game contains illicit drug use that is linked to an incentive or reward, in that use of the drug provides a gameplay advantage to the player.”IllFonic has since clarified that the game will be available digitally in New Zealand after all, but only in a digital format. In a statement posted on X last week, the developer said it was “extremely thrilled” to announce the change after receiving guidance from New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC). While IllFonic has not publicly identified the substance in its statement, multiple media reports have identified it as cannabis. An earlier demonstration of the game showed a player character smoking a joint to gain an advantage, with the effect allowing the player to see Michael Myers’ location on the map, according to Video Games Chronicle. Horror content creator Slash ‘N Cast, who was at an event to play the game before its official release, said, per Bloody Disgusting, that: “Smoking weed in Halloween allows you to see Michael’s pings across the map and can give you an advantage.” Australian rules do not prohibit cannabis from appearing in video games altogether, as games can receive an R18+ rating despite depicting or allowing drug use, but the Classification Board’s guidelines specifically prohibit drug use that is linked to an incentive or reward. Set in Haddonfield on Halloween night in 1978, the same night depicted in John Carpenter’s original film, the game allows one player to take control of Michael Myers while four others play residents of Haddonfield attempting to survive the night (IllFonic/X)Cannabis is also not legal for recreational use in Australia, although medicinal cannabis can be prescribed under a tightly controlled system. Drug laws vary between Australia’s states and territories, but recreational cannabis remains prohibited nationally.The decision has drawn a furious response from players in Australia, with one X user writing: “You can stab your friends brutally over and over again but God forbid you light a digital plant on fire.” On Reddit, another wrote: “Sure, we can have gambling ads every three minutes on television, that’s totally fine, but ONE scene of someone smoking something for a positive net gain in a video game, and that’s where we draw the line?!” Another user called the approach “far more damaging than any good it’s trying to accomplish”.A petition calling for Halloween: The Game to be made available in Australia has attracted more than 1,600 signatures (IllFonic/X)A petition calling for Halloween: The Game to be made available in Australia has attracted more than 1,600 signatures at the time of writing, and many on social media have said they are writing to their local MPs to protest. In 2019, the board refused to classify zombie survival game DayZ after finding that players could smoke cannabis to improve their health and chances of survival. It said the drug use could have been allowed at R18+ if it had not given players an advantage. Saints Row IV was refused classification twice in 2013 before a modified version was approved after an optional mission involving drug use and superpowers was removed. Fallout 3 also received a ban in 2008 before Bethesda changed the name of the drug Morphine to Med-X, allowing the game to receive an MA15+ rating. Halloween: The Game is set to be released on 8 September 2026.