A rating on a game box is a short answer to one question: what is in this game? It is not a verdict on whether the game is good, and it does not say how hard it is. A PEGI 3 puzzle game can stump an adult, and a PEGI 18 game can be easy to finish. Once that clicks, the labels become much easier to use.
Rating boards look at things like violence, language, frightening scenes and adult themes. They do not measure skill or complexity. PEGI states this directly: its age rating is not meant to show how difficult a game is or how much skill it takes to play.
The age is also a guide, not a test your child passes or fails. It is the age the board thinks the content suits. You know your own child better than any label does.
PEGI (Pan European Game Information) has five age tiers: 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. Roughly:
| Label | What to expect |
|---|---|
| PEGI 3 | Suitable for everyone. Very mild content, such as cartoon-style slapstick. |
| PEGI 7 | May include scenes or sounds that could frighten younger children, or mild, unrealistic violence. |
| PEGI 12 | More graphic violence towards fantasy characters, mild bad language, sexual innuendo. |
| PEGI 16 | Realistic violence towards people, strong language, depictions of drugs or alcohol. |
| PEGI 18 | Very graphic violence and explicit adult content. |
Next to the age you will see small icons. These are content descriptors: they say why a game got its age. They cover violence, bad language, fear, drugs, sex, discrimination and gambling. Two game boxes can both say PEGI 12 for very different reasons, and the icons tell you which.
The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) uses letters rather than just numbers:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| E | Everyone. Generally suitable for all ages. |
| E10+ | Everyone 10 and up. A bit more cartoon or fantasy violence, mild language. |
| T | Teen, 13 and up. Violence, crude humour, infrequent strong language. |
| M | Mature, 17 and up. Intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, strong language. |
| AO | Adults Only, 18 and up. Rare in practice. |
| RP | Rating Pending. A placeholder in advertising before the final rating is given. |
ESRB also lists content descriptors, such as "Fantasy Violence", "Blood and Gore" or "Strong Language", on the back of the box and in the online listing.
Germany uses USK, Japan uses CERO, Australia and Brazil have government classification bodies, and so on. The tiers and the cut-off ages differ. Many digital stores use a shared questionnaire system called IARC, which turns a publisher's answers into the local rating for each country. If you see two different labels for the same game, that is normal.
The top half shows which labels are aimed at your child's age or younger. The bottom half goes the other way: tick what you are comfortable with, and it shows the label you would typically see on a game containing that content, which is the highest one among your ticks.
Beyond age and content, labels carry practical notes. PEGI has an In-game purchases note, and ESRB has an In-Game Purchases note too, with a separate version for purchases that include random items such as loot boxes. These mean the game can ask for real money for extras. They say nothing about how much, or how pushy it is.
ESRB also has Users Interact, which warns that players may see messages or content from other people that nobody has checked. The ESRB notes that this does not affect the rating itself. PEGI has had similar online notes. The thing to remember: the age rating covers what the game's makers put in it, not what other players say or do. Online chat is a separate setting you control on the console or account.
PEGI also announced in March 2026 that, from June 2026, games with paid random items such as loot boxes would get at least PEGI 16. Because this is recent, look at the label on the specific game rather than assuming.