Star Wars: The Old Republic ESRB Rating Revealed

This likely won’t come as a surprise to those who have been following BioWare’s MMO and know the tone the developers are going for, but the ESRB has given a ‘Teen’ rating to Star Wars: The Old Republic, citing scantily clad female dancers and a severed head delivery in their summary among other things.

In this massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game, based on the Star Wars universe, players engage in a fictional conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Players can choose from classic Star Wars roles (e.g., Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter, Trooper) and complete quests to determine their path down the light or dark side of the Force. Players use light sabers, laser blasters, and telekinetic powers to battle a variety of human-like enemies and fantastical creatures (e.g., aliens, cyborgs); battles frequently depict characters getting shot with lasers, slashed with light sabers, or shocked with lightning bolts. During the course of the game, players are presented with interactive cutscenes in which their choices play a vital role in the outcome of their story (e.g., using electrical attacks on restrained characters to collect information; killing someone instead of letting him go). Some sequences depict brief instances of blood and gore: to complete one quest, players must dip a skull in a pool of blood; in another mission, players deliver a severed head to a specific location and place it on a pike. Players can freely explore many areas in the game, including clubs that depict scantily clad female dancers with exposed cleavage; some sequences include dialogue with sexual innuendo (e.g., (An hour. I think I’m insulted. We’ll need the whole night,) (I’ll be sure to make conjugal visits,) and (Come, dear, let’s forgo the nuptials and proceed to the honeymoon.)). The words (damn) and (hell) can be heard in dialogue throughout the game.