The Last of Us: Part II will reportedly carry an M for Mature rating in the United States. The game’s website (via Dualshockers) shows the M rating from the ESRB, but the ratings group has yet to officially publish its rating for the game, so it may only be a placeholder.
That being said, the rating is filled out with multiple content descriptors, so it does at least appear to be official-looking in nature. The content descriptors include: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, and Use of Drugs.
That’s all to be expected from what is looking like a very violent and intense game that is not recommended for children. No one should be surprised by this, as the first Last of Us was also a brutally violent game.
The original Last of Us had a M rating as well, but there are some differences in the content descriptors. That game featured warnings for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language.
The sequel, meanwhile, has all of those descriptors as well as Nudity and Sexual Content. For reference, ESRB defines Nudity as “graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity.” Sexual Content is defined as “non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity,” while “Sexual Themes” pertains to “references to sex or sexuality.”
The Last of Us: Part II is still months away from its release date in May, so it is possible that its ESRB rating will change. Again, the ESRB has not yet published its official rating for the game.
The Last of Us: Part II launches on May 29 for PlayStation 4. Intriguingly, it was recently discovered that Naughty Dog is looking to hire a PC programmer.
Source: Gamespot Last Of Us 2's Rating Has Been Revealed, And It Sounds Very Violent And Graphic