The upcoming multiplayer game Halloween: The Game has been refused classification in Australia, meaning it cannot legally be sold in the country. The ban stems not from its graphic violence, which includes brutal killings inspired by the horror film franchise, but from a mechanic allowing players to smoke marijuana to reveal the location of villain Michael Myers and avoid being killed, which the Classification Board ruled constitutes "incentivised drug use" under its guidelines.

Under the 2023 Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games, titles are refused classification if illicit drug use is tied to gameplay rewards or advantages, and the board said it had no discretion but to apply this rule to Halloween: The Game. The decision has provoked more than 500 complaints to the board and a backlash against developer Illfonic online, echoing earlier bans of games including State of Decay, Wasteland 3 and Saints Row IV, which were later reclassified after edits. Academics such as Claire Henry and Dan Golding argue the case exposes inconsistencies in how Australia regulates games compared with film and television, rooted in long-standing assumptions that interactive media is inherently more risky and primarily aimed at children.