Armored Core 6 rating details fictional drug war

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has been rated ahead of its August release date.

The ESRB has just handed down its rating for Armored Core 6, granting it a 'T' for Teen rating. This is apparently because of "Drug Reference, Language, and Violence," which are all sort of things you'd probably expect from a futuristic mecha-focused action game.

"This is a third-person shooter in which players assume the role of a mercenary carrying out military-style missions," the ESRB's rating reads, adding "players pilot mechanized battle suits (i.e., mechs), using machine guns, rocket launchers, missiles, and melee-style attacks to destroy enemies (e.g., other mechs, tanks, helicopters)."

There's also reference to drugs and a drug war in Armored Core 6's dialog, but both of these are fictional. We weren't really expecting FromSoftware's new game to start reference conflicts like Iran-Contra and crack cocaine, to be honest. At least we're starting to get an idea of why Rubicon is such a desolate wasteland in Armored Core 6.

The word "shit" appears in Armored Core 6, so fair warning if you're going to be playing this in front of your family. Finally, there's also a hint at cross-play interaction between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players from the ESRB rating, where a 'Users Interact' denotation then lists all last and new-gen consoles and PC together. 

We've had the chance to see FromSoftware's new game in action behind closed doors, as well as speak to members of its development team over the past few weeks. You can read our full Armored Core 6 preview for a deep dive into what to expect from the final game. 

You can also head over to our new games 2023 guide for a look at all the other new titles set to launch throughout the summer months.