GTA 6 Parents Guide: Age Ratings by Country and Controls

GTA 6 is rated for adults in every country that has rated it. The ESRB gives it M (Mature 17+) in the US and Canada, PEGI gives it 18 in Europe and the UK, Australia rates it R 18+, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rate it 21. Germany's USK and Japan's CERO have not published a rating yet.

If you are a parent deciding whether GTA 6 belongs in your house, this page has every rating we could find, what each board says it means, what the game contains in plain words, and how to block it on a PS5 or an Xbox.

GTA 6 age rating in every country

We read each rating on the board's own site where it has posted one, and otherwise on that country's PlayStation Store or Xbox Store listing, which show the local rating. Checked October 11, 2026.

Country or region	Rating	Content listed	Where we read it
US and Canada	ESRB: M (Mature 17+)	Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol; In-Game Purchases	ESRB's own page
Europe and the UK	PEGI 18	Drugs, Sexual Content, Extreme Violence, Nudity; In-Game Purchases	UK PlayStation Store
Australia	R 18+ (Classification Board)	High impact violence, sex scenes and drug use	The board's own database
New Zealand	R18	Drug use, graphic violence, nudity, offensive language, sex scenes	New Zealand PlayStation Store and Xbox Store
India	18 (PEGI on PlayStation, IARC on Xbox)	Drugs, In-Game Purchases, Sexual Content, Violence	Indian PlayStation Store and Xbox Store
Brazil	18 (ClassInd)	Extreme violence, sexual content, drugs	Brazilian Xbox Store; reported by Estadão. The PlayStation Store still shows it pending
South Korea	19+ (GRAC)	None listed	South Korean PlayStation Store; the Xbox Store shows IARC 18+
Taiwan	18+ Restricted	Sex, violence, drugs	Taiwanese PlayStation Store
Singapore and other IARC countries	IARC 18+	In-Game Purchases, Drugs, Extreme Violence, Nudity, Sex	Singapore PlayStation Store
Saudi Arabia	21	None listed	Saudi PlayStation Store and Xbox Store
United Arab Emirates	21	None listed	UAE PlayStation Store and Xbox Store
Germany	USK: pending	Not rated yet	German PlayStation Store and Xbox Store
Japan	CERO: under review	Not rated yet	Japanese PlayStation Store and Xbox Store

New Zealand's Classification Office lists only Rockstar's Extended Look trailer so far, not the game, so the R18 above is the label the stores show. PEGI published a longer description of the game in early October and then removed it; our age rating explainer covers what it said.

What the ratings mean, in the boards' own words

• ESRB M: "Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language." In the US this is guidance; stores set their own ID rules.
• PEGI 18: applied "when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters", and for the glamorisation of illegal drugs and explicit sexual activity.
• Australia R 18+: "Legally restricted to adults 18 years and over." The board says the content is high in impact and that buyers may be asked for proof of age.
• New Zealand R18: "R means legally age-restricted. It is an offence to allow someone underage to watch or access restricted films and video games." The office adds that adults cannot give children permission to play a restricted game.

So in Australia and New Zealand the rating is law, not advice, and a parent cannot opt their child in.

What GTA 6 actually contains

The ESRB's own summary for GTA 6 is a single sentence that repeats its seven content descriptors, and it has not added the longer scene-by-scene paragraph it writes for some games. The descriptors across all the boards agree on four things:

Theme	What the ratings say
Violence	Intense or extreme violence with blood and gore (ESRB, PEGI); high impact violence (Australia)
Sex and nudity	Strong sexual content and nudity (ESRB); sex scenes (Australia, New Zealand)
Drugs	Use of drugs and alcohol (ESRB); drug use in every country that lists descriptors
Language	Strong language (ESRB); offensive language (New Zealand)

Two practical points for parents. GTA 6 launches as a single-player game: the PlayStation Store lists it as one player with offline play enabled, and the Xbox Store as single player, so there is no voice chat or online play with strangers at launch. And the "In-Game Purchases" label refers to paid extras: the only one Rockstar has announced is the Ultimate Edition Upgrade, an add-on that unlocks extra cars, weapons, outfits and businesses for the story.

Our take: for under-17s, the ratings make this an easy call, and every board that has rated it agrees. For an older teenager, the honest test is your own house rule for GTA 5, which carries the same ESRB rating and the same seven descriptors. Rockstar's trailers are free to watch on its website and YouTube, and they are the fastest way to judge the tone for yourself before launch.

How to block GTA 6 on PS5

Sony's controls live in Family Management. You first need a family on your PlayStation account with the child added as a family member.

1. On the PS5, go to Settings, Family and Parental Controls, Family Management, select the child, and choose a parental control. You can do the same on the web from Account Management, Family Management, or from your phone with the PlayStation Family app.
2. Set Age Level for Games and Apps. Sony offers presets (Late Teens or Older, Early Teens, Child); pick an age below GTA 6's rating in your country, and the game will not start on the child's account.
3. If the child tries to open a blocked game, they can send you a request. You can approve it under Allowed Games or from the notification.
4. Set a Monthly Spending Limit under Parental Controls. Sony sets it to 0 by default, and purchases come from the family manager's wallet.
5. For time limits, choose the child's time zone, then Playtime Settings: restrict playtime, pick what happens when time ends (Notify Only or Log Out) and set the hours per day.

How to block GTA 6 on Xbox Series X|S

Microsoft's controls work through an Xbox family group, managed from the free Xbox Family Settings app on iPhone (iOS 13 or later) or Android (Android 8.0 or later), or from the web.

1. Create a family group and add the child's account. Microsoft says this comes first.
2. Set an age limit for games and apps for the child. In the app this is under the child's content restrictions; on the console, Microsoft's path is Profile and system, Settings, Account, Family settings, Manage family members.
3. Turn on Ask to Buy. Microsoft: "When 'Ask to Buy' is activated for your kids, you get a notification in the app when they ask to purchase a game, app, or in game purchases they don't have funding for."
4. Set screen time from the app or the web. Microsoft says screen time limits cannot be managed from the console itself.

The app also shows activity reports and lets you approve friend requests and multiplayer, which will matter if Rockstar adds an online mode later.

Will GTA 6 ask players for ID?

Rockstar has announced no ID check for GTA 6. Australia's age assurance rules for 18+ content, and the checks Xbox and PlayStation run for some account features in the UK, are covered in our age rating explainer.