‘Schedule 1’ Developer Responds After Drug-Dealing Sim is “Banned” Temporarily in Australia

Schedule 1 players were in for a surprise when the game mysteriously disappeared from the Australian versions of Steam. This led many to speculate that the game had been banned by the country’s government due to its content. However, Schedule 1 developer TVGS has now responded and provided the reason for the game’s temporary suspension.

‘Schedule 1’ Temporarily Unavailable in Australia

The Schedule 1 “ban” was first discovered on a Reddit thread created on May 12. Users noticed that the game was no longer appearing on the Australian version of Steam. Fans verified the game’s removal by using VPNs and confirming that it was still accessible in every other country. However, it turns out that the drug-dealing sim is not actually banned. It is instead under a temporary suspension due to classification issues.

Schedule 1 developer Tyler (TVGS) made a post in the thread and explained that the game would return to Australian stores. “It turns out all games in Australia have to receive a classification before they can be sold. I was under the impression this was only the case for console or physical releases. It seems like this rule is pretty inconsistently enforced because there’s a ton of unclassified games being sold in Australia.”

The developer also clarified that he’s hoping the situation will be resolved in a few days. “We’re getting the classification process underway today and will hopefully get this resolved in the next couple of days. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone! tl;dr Not banned — just awaiting classification.” So there it is: Schedule 1 is not technically banned, but has only been temporarily pulled from stores while it awaits classification.

Australia Has a History of Banning Games

It’s not surprising that fans of Schedule 1 initially assumed it had been banned, given Australia’s history. After all, the country’s government has cracked down on drug use in games in the past—and Schedule 1 is essentially a glorified Breaking Bad simulator, so there’s that.

Games such as Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and Manhunt are also examples of titles that were removed from stores due to drug-related and violent content. Despite Schedule 1’s heavy focus on drug-dealing, developer TVGS seems fairly confident the game will be back soon. Based on his response, it’s simply a classification issue that might take a few days to resolve.

Still, if you live in Australia and were hoping to jump into Schedule 1 this week, you’ll have to wait a little while longer. If you’ve already purchased a copy, the temporary suspension won’t affect you—the game still boots up and is playable on Steam. The Schedule 1 removal is only for new purchases.