Minecraft Receives Adults-Only Age Rating In South Korea

In what may look like a surprising turn of events, Minecraft's just been hit with an adults-only age rating in South Korea, restricting it as an 18+ game only. The reason? South Korea's Youth Protection Revision Act, also known as the "Shutdown Law" or "Cinderella Law".

Initially passed back in 2011, this law forbids children under the age of sixteen to play online video games, taking effect between midnight and 6AM. While parents can request exemptions for their children, that's created numerous legal challenges about its constitutionality, though the Constitutional Court of Korea has previously rejected these complaints.

Read More: Sonic x Minecraft DLC Released To Celebrate 30 Years Of Sonic The Hedgehog

Minecraft Receives Adults-Only Age Rating In South Korea

Previously, Microsoft changed their South Korea policy so that anyone wanting an account had to be 19 years old. However, this did not affect Minecraft as Mojang accounts don't verify your age, but recent changes in March saw Microsoft implement mandatory Xbox Live sign-ins, increasing that original rating from 12+ to 18+.

Unsurprisingly, that's led to a community backlash and an official petition has been raised to South Korea's government, asking them to abolish the Youth Protection Revision Act. Since going up on July 2nd, it's gathered just under 96k signatures at the time of writing.

As for Microsoft's plans about this age rating, they issued this comment to PC Gamer:

We are proceeding with the global migration of Mojang accounts to Microsoft accounts for Minecraft: Java Edition including for our players in South Korea. We’re working on a longer term solution for existing and new players under the age of 19 in South Korea and will have more to share on this later this year.