ESRB Ratings | Entertainment Software Ratings Board (original) (raw)
ESRB ratings provide information about what’s in video game
ESRB ratings provide information about what’s in a game or app so parents and consumers can make informed choices about which games are right for their family. Ratings have 3 parts: Rating Categories, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements.
About the ESRB
Our primary mission is to help parents make informed decisions about the video games and apps their children play. Our Advertising Review Council actively enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and our Privacy Certified program helps ensure responsible web and mobile privacy practices.
Rating categories suggest age appropriateness.
Content Descriptors indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.
Interactive Elements highlight interactive or online features that may be of interest or concern but do not influence the rating assignment of a product. This includes users’ ability to interact with each other, the sharing of users’ location with other users, if purchases of digital goods or services are offered, and/or if unrestricted internet access is provided.
Rating Summaries are assigned to many physical games and provide more detailed information about the content in a game and its context. You can find rating summaries when you conduct a ratings search on this site or download our mobile app.
ESRB Blog
A Parent’s Guide to Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a multiplayer fantasy sports game based in the magical universe of the “Wizarding World.” Much like Quidditch in the books and movies, the game puts your kids in the robes of witching and wizarding students competing on flying broomsticks, as they try to score goals against opposing teams. Quidditch matches […]
Did You Know?
67% of the ESRB ratings assigned to physical and console downloadable video games in 2022 were either E (Everyone) or E10+ (Everyone 10+).
Did You Know?
84% of parents who purchase physical video games for their children are aware of ESRB ratings and 74% regularly check them before buying a game. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2022)
Did You Know?
Most parents consider each part (Rating Category, Content Descriptors, Interactive Elements) of the ESRB rating system to be either “very” or “extremely” important when deciding if a game or app is appropriate for their kids. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2022)
Did You Know?
ESRB has an enforcement system which allows for the imposition of sanctions, fines (including fines up to $1 million), and corrective actions on publishers for non-compliance with its guidelines.
Learn More about Rating Process
Did You Know?
The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “This [ESRB rating] system does much to ensure that minors cannot purchase seriously violent games on their own, and that parents who care about the matter can readily evaluate the games their children bring home.”
Learn More at supremecourt.gov
Did You Know?
The ESRB rating system has three parts – Rating Categories, Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements, the latter of which were introduced in 2013.
Did You Know?
Introduced in 2008, Rating Summaries provide greater detail about the content in physical games rated by the ESRB, and are exclusively available on this website or the ESRB mobile app by conducting a title search.
Did You Know?
The FTC considers the ESRB to have “the strongest self-regulatory code” among media rating systems in the U.S. and has confirmed that retailers maintain a high store policy compliance rate.
Did You Know?
Founded in 2013 by many of the world’s leading video game rating authorities, the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) administers the first globally streamlined age classification process for digital games and mobile apps that respects the unique cultural norms of each region.
Learn More at globalratings.com
Did You Know?
More than 70% of parents would be more comfortable allowing their children to download and play a game certified by ESRB Privacy Certified (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2018).
Did You Know?
Activating parental controls on your children’s video game devices helps you enforce house rules, such as limiting play time, blocking games with certain ESRB ratings, and managing in-game spending.