Batman: Arkham Knight rated ‘Mature’

In a surprise reveal this morning, Rocksteady revealed (via IGN) that Batman: Arkham Knight has received an "M for Mature" rating from the ESRB. For those of you in other parts of the world, that's 17+ here in America (Adults Only is 18+).

The studio's previous two Batman games — Arkham Asylum and Arkham City — both earned "T for Teens" ratings, so it comes at a bit of a surprise that the latest installment in the popular franchise received an 'M.' According to Sefton Hill, Rocksteady founder and Arkham Knight Game Director, the rating came as a surprise to him as well.

"From our point of view, we never wrote it or made it with a rating in mind. We never did that in the previous two games… We just felt that this is the story that we really wanted to tell," he told IGN.

Hill acknowledged that Rocksteady is aware some younger players might miss out on the game due to the rating, but defended that adjusting the game for the "mass market" would be harmful for the story they wanted to tell.

"I'm not blind to the fact that [the M rating] does mean some fans will miss out… I don't want to be oblivious to that fact. It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn't believe in to keep the game 'mass market' or enable it for more people. We feel that's the wrong way to go about it. We said we love the story and we don't want to jeopardize that."

Batman: Arkham Knight will continue and also conclude the Arkham saga, and will feature some brand new gameplay elements like the Batmobile for the very first time. It's set to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on June 2, 2015.