Stomped has learned that Raven Software's and Activision's controversial first person shooter Soldier of Fortune can now be sold again openly in PC gaming stores in British Columbia, Canada. An Activision spokesperson confirmed to Stomped late Thursday what it had learned from other sources that the Motion Picture Appeals Board in British Columbia had ruled earlier in January that the B.C. Film Classification Office's enforcement of their "adult" rating of SoF would be suspended pending further appeals of the merits of the case.

Last July, Soldier of Fortune became the first video or PC game to receive an adult rating from the B.C. Film Classification Office. At the time, the office made its decision because, it its opinion, "the depictions of violence against persons and animals are brutal and portrayed realistically and explicitly" in the game. The adult classification put SoF in the same category as pornography, which meant it could not be rented or purchased by minors and could only be displayed in an area restricted to adults. All PC gaming stores in B.C. removed the game from their shelves at that time. Activision formally appealed the decision in August, as did the game's distributor in Canada, Beamscope. (Ironically, Beamscope has since gone out of business). Earlier in January, the Motion Picture Appeals Board ruled that Activision had grounds to appeal the decision and that the enforcement of the adult rating would be temporarily lifted pending the full appeal.

Brent Devitt, the manager of the PC and video game store Microplay in Surry, B.C., told Stomped Thursday that he was not aware he could once again sell Soldier of Fortune in his store without reprisals from the government. "I would have expected a letter," he said. "They were quite quick in sending us a letter telling us to remove the game." Devitt added that government representatives actually came to his store last year to make sure he was not selling the game and that if they had discovered SoF being sold in his store, he could have received a $30,000 fine.

In addition to giving SoF the adult rating, the Film Classification Office had also proposed last July establishing its own separate rating system for games. Such a rating system has not yet been established.

The Activision spokesperson would not comment further on the case. Stomped attempted to contact representatives from the B.C. Film Classification Office for comment Thursday but did not receive a reply.