Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Slapped with 'Mature' Rating for Gore, Nudity

Controversy strikes again as the ESRB slaps the acclaimed adventure game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with a retroactive 'Mature' rating. Is the kingdom of Tamriel too edgy for the kiddies?

Severed heads on pikes. Rotting zombies. And topless girls?

Is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion just too mature for teens? That's the official verdict from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the official group who decides the ratings for your favorite video games.

In an announcement today, the ESRB said that they were retroactively slapping Oblivion with a more classification, boosting the game from a 'Teen' (13+) to a 'Mature' (17+) rating. In the press release, the ESRB says that the change was made because Oblivion contains "more detailed depictions of blood and gore than were considered in the original rating."

Furthermore, the ESRB release notes the "presence of a locked-out art file or 'skin'...that allows the user to play with topless versions of female characters." According to the release, the topless mode in Oblivion is accessible with "third-party modification[s]" in the PC version of the game.

We contacted Oblivion developer Bethesda for their comment, but we told that the company would have a "formal response" soon. We'll keep you posted.

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