Devolver responds to Hotline Miami 2’s sudden deletion from Australian PS5s with a single, perfect screenshot

Hotline Miami 2’s PS5 port launched worldwide in 2023, including in Australia – a country where the game had been effectively banned years earlier. Somebody at PlayStation has seemingly finally realized the mistake, as Hotline Miami 2 is now being deleted from Australian PS5s and refunded to those who’d previously purchased it. Publisher Devolver Digital has responded to the news with a single, perfect screenshot.

“We have become aware that the product Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has not received a proper rating from the Australian Classification Board and have therefore taken steps to refund customers who have purchased the game,” PlayStation said in a customer service email, as reported by Australian outlet Press Start. 

Eurogamer got in touch with publisher Devolver for comment on the news, and the studio responded with a “visual statement” on the situation. That statement is presented in full below.

The Australian Classification Board assigns ratings to games and other media. If something is refused a classification for what the Board deems as extreme content, it cannot be sold or exhibited in the country. A particularly notable example is Fallout 3, which was initially refused classification because of “realistic visual representations of drugs.” The game was later released with an MA 15+ rating when Bethesda changed the name of an in-game item labeled “morphine” to the fictional “Med-X.”