“Halo 5: Guardians” Receives a Teen ESRB Rating
First of Halo FPS Games Not To Be Rated Mature
Up until this point, every first-person shooter game in the "Halo" series has received a Mature rating from the ESRB...until now - "Halo 5: Guardians" was given a Teen rating today. This is not the first time a "Halo" game has received such a rating - both "Halo Wars" and "Halo: Spartan Assault" were given a Teen rating, but they both strategy games and a bit different than the typical "Halo" shooter.
It is unclear exactly why "Halo 5" didn't meet the criteria for the Mature rating that "Halo" shooters typically receive. The ESRB rating summary reads as follows:
Players use pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, and futuristic weapons to kill alien and human enemies in frenetic combat. Battles are highlighted by realistic gunfire, explosions, and occasional blood-splatter effects. Characters can also use “assassinations” to kill characters by snapping their necks, or by stabbing them with bladed weapons. The word “a*s” appears in the dialogue, as well as occasional taunts/insults (e.g., “I have copulated...with your genetic progenitors!”; 'Your father was a filthy colo and your mother was a hole in the wall!').
It's hard to judge a game before it's released, so it's difficult to say if "Halo 5" will meet the standards of it's only progentitors. "Halo 5: Guardians" is due for release on October 27th of this year on the XBox One.
