The violent shoot-’em-up game Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has in effect been banned in Australia after the county’s classification board refused to award it an age rating.

A report filed by the board and seen by gaming news site Kotaku, highlights a particular scene in which the lead protagonist appears to punch and then sexually assault a female character. According to the classification report, the victim is pinned down during the sequence and is depicted struggling. It is not clear how much of the scene is interactive.

On the Australian Classification Board website, the title features a “refused classification” icon, and generic explanation: “The computer game is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Computer Games Table, 1. (a) as computer games that “depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.”

Hotline Miami 2, which follows a hitman carrying out assassination missions for various gangland bosses, has already been the subject of games industry controversy. A similar sexual assault scene was depicted in an early demo, exhibited at gaming events in 2013. In that version, however, the sequence cut before the assault began, and it became clear that the scene was depicting a pornographic movie production.

However, many journalists and event attendees found the scene disturbing, and developer Dennaton stated that it would reconsider its inclusion in the game.

It is not clear yet whether other classification organisations will come to similar decisions. The Australian board has a history of intolerance toward video game violence, and has demanded cuts from titles such as Saint’s Row IV, Grand Theft Auto IV and South Park: Stick of Truth. In December, the Australian retail chains Target Australia and KMart pulled Grand Theft Auto V from their shelves after a successful petition from a consumer group which objected to the game’s depiction of violence toward women.

Hotline Miami publisher Devolver released a statement on the certification decision, criticising the Australian board for “stretching the facts” in its description of the scene.

After pointing out that players will be able to choose at the start of the game whether or not to experience content “that alludes to sexual violence”, the company claimed that elements of the contentious sequence had been exaggerated in the board’s report.

The statement reads: “We are concerned and disappointed that a board of professionals tasked with evaluating and judging games fairly and honestly would stretch the facts to such a degree and issue a report that describes specific thrusting actions that are not simply present in the sequence in question and incorrectly portrays what was presented to them for review.”

The statement goes on to state that Devolver will not challenge the ruling, but that the publisher “stands by” the developer and their creative vision.