God of War Ragnarök has been rated in South Korea

God of War Ragnarök has been rated in South Korea, where it’s been given an ’18’ certificate.

As spotted by Twitter user The_Marmolade, the country’s Game Rating and Administration Committee has given the game its highest possible rating, which it defines as “youths not allowed”.

A South Korean rating doesn’t necessarily mean the game’s release is imminent, but it does give some hope that despite still not having a release date, it may still be on track for its promised 2022 release window.

For comparison, Horizon Forbidden West was rated in South Korea in November 2021 and was released three months later in February 2022.

South Korean’s rating notes (as translated by VGC) says the game’s 18 certificate is down to the following factors:

• “Excessive violence”
  • “Realistic weapons such as knives and axes are depicted, and blood and body damage are depicted during battle.”
• “Excessive vulgarity and profanity”
  • “Excessive profanity (Fxxx, Dxxx, etc.) in dialogue between characters appears throughout the game”
• “Direct drug expression”
  • “There is a direct expression of characters drinking alcohol in pubs, etc.”

In April, developer Sony Santa Monica Studio tweeted a video in which series head Cory Barlog asked fans to remain patient for news on the upcoming God of War sequel.

In the video, Barlog – who revealed last September that he wasn’t returning to direct Ragnarök – addressed a lack of updates on the game.

Further reading

Sony provides update on God of War Ragnarök accessibility, but still no release date

Sony Santa Monica has revealed more than 60 new features

“Speaking of God of War Ragnarök, the elephant in the room… We haven’t said a lot about this – that’s because everybody is heads down, hard at work,” he said.

“We are perfectionists. Everyone’s tightening up the graphics on level three, there is so much going on right now that I just wish that we could share it with you, but it’s just not ready to be shown.

The video led to some concern that the God of War Ragnarök release date could have slipped from its promised 2022 window. However, the game’s animation director Bruno Velazquez later stated: “Ragnarok is coming this year.”