Schedule 1developer TVGS has provided players with an update surrounding the game’s classification rating in Australia, with hopes that it will be relisted by the end of July.Schedule 1blew up on Steam earlier this month, becoming one of the most played games on the platform. But fans who were looking to get in on the action were left disappointed when the smash hit indie game suddenly vanished from the storefront in Australia. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like it will be gone for much longer.
After a monumental early access release in March, peaking at almost 460,000 concurrent players,Schedule 1had cemented itself as one of the biggest indie game releases of the year. However, its release hasn’t been without a few issues, one of which wasSchedule 1’s sudden removal from Steam in Australia. On May 12, fans of the indie game took to social media to question whySchedule 1was no longer available for purchase within the country. While many believed the title had been banned due to its illicit themes, TVGS quickly responded by stating that this was not the case, and thatSchedule 1simply needed an age classification before it could be relisted.
Schedule 1 May Be Relisted in Australia Soon
With it now being well over a month since the game’s removal in Australia, fans are eager to know when it may return. According to Tyler,the sole developer ofSchedule 1, the classification process is still ongoing. In a recent developer livestream, Tyler reiterated that the game had not been banned in Australia and was simply unavailable while it goes through an age rating process with the Australian Classification Board. The drug-related themes ofSchedule 1appear to be making the process a little longer than usual, but Tyler remains confident thatSchedule 1will receive an 18+ rating in Australia and will then return to Steam. As for when that may be, Tyler is apparently close to submitting the application, which will then take up to 25 working days to be processed. If all goes well,Schedule 1should be back on Steam in Australia by the end of July.
While it looks likeSchedule 1may soon return to Steam in Australia, it hasn’t been the only headache for developer TVGS. Shortly after the game’s release earlier this year,Drug Deal Simulatorpublisher Movie Games S.A. announced it wasinvestigatingSchedule 1for potential copyright infringement. Nothing seems to have come from the accusations as of yet, but the publisher claimed thatSchedule 1may have taken various elements fromDrug Deal Simulator, such as plot, gameplay mechanics, and user interface. Fans ofSchedule 1were quick to bash Movie Games S.A. and even review-bombedDrug Deal Simulatoron Steam because of the accusations.
Thankfully, these issues don’t appear to have prevented Tyler from continuing to update the game with plenty of new features, bug fixes, and quality-of-life improvements. While multiple content updates have already been released, Tyler recently allowed fans tovote on the next majorSchedule 1update. Voting has since closed, but players had the opportunity to choose between a Rival Cartel update, a Shrooms update, or a Police Expansions update. But with over 440,000 submissions and 64% of votes, the Rival Cartel update came out on top and is now aiming for a release in late July.
