*Persona 5 Royal* Has Been Banned from Release—This Time Steam Has Gone Too Far

Absurd. The problem isn’t the rating system itself, but that incorrect ratings were served directly on the store page.

According to Southeast Asian media outlet Games Braves, Steam recently introduced the local IGRS rating system for users in Indonesia. This system was established in 2016 by the agency now known as Komdigi, and it classifies games into five categories: 3+, 7+, 13+, 15+, and 18+. The rules are not complicated, but the execution went seriously wrong.

What stood out most was not a few isolated errors, but that the entire labeling system temporarily lost credibility. Normal titles such as Persona 5 Royal, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and The Sims 4 were actually marked as “not suitable for release.” On the other hand, some games that should have been for all ages or aimed at teenagers were labeled 18+, and even adult games could end up with a 3+ tag.

This is no longer just a difference in standards of judgment, but a distortion of the information system itself. The purpose of ratings is to provide parents, players, and platforms with a clear point of reference. Instead, it has now become the opposite—misleading people and leaving everyone confused.

Valve later issued a statement admitting fault, saying the problem came from a combination of technical flaws and communication errors, which caused inaccurate and incomplete rating information to be temporarily published. The response was fairly straightforward: first, all of these ratings were removed to avoid continuing to mislead users, and at the same time, users were given an apology. Indonesian authorities have also clarified that the labels that appeared on Steam at the time were not officially certified IGRS results.

This shows two things. First, the platform’s process verification was clearly insufficient when integrating regional regulatory rules. Second, once ratings are displayed on the storefront, they are no longer a minor feature, but core information that affects purchasing decisions.

For players, there is only one practical suggestion for now: users in the Indonesian region should not treat these age labels as a reliable reference for the time being. At least until Valve restores them and confirms their source, it is better to rely more on game description pages and community feedback. For the platform, this mistake is not a disaster, but it does damage trust. What a store fears most is not being slow, but presenting wrong information as if it were true.

Seen from an industry-wide perspective, this is also a reminder. When global platforms work on localized compliance, they cannot focus only on launch speed. If a rating system cannot even guarantee basic accuracy, then what it brings is not management efficiency, but new confusion.