For the first time ever a first person shooter Halo game has not received a mature rating from the ESRB. The ESRB gave Halo 5: Guardians a teen rating.
In their rating summary, the ESRB states, “Battles are highlighted by realistic gunfire, explosions, and occasional blood-splatter effects,” to explain some of the violence that appears in the game. Part of the teen rating is warranted from the language in the game, as the ESRB says, “The word ‘a*s’ appears in the dialogue, as well as occasional taunts/insults”.
The mature rating always seemed a little high for the FPS franchise, with the bulk of the violence being directed towards fictional aliens. More surprisingly this description does not differ greatly from other Halo FPS ratings, yet this is the only one to receive a teen rating.
Two other Halo games have received teen ratings, Halo Wars and Halo: Spartan Assault, but neither of these games were first person shooters. Halo 5: Guardians is set to be released on October 27th, 2015 on the Xbox One.