The Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) provides an insight into the figures for 2023. Striking: the new testing rules are having an effect
In the press release, Lorenzo von Petersdorff, Deputy Managing Director of the USK, speaks of an “intensive but also exciting year”. The new review rules, in which usage risks such as chats, in-game purchases and loot boxes were taken into account for the first time, were the decisive factor.
A look at the figures shows that these had an effect. This is because “around 30 percent of the reviewed games with online functions were given a higher age rating due to the risks of use. For the remaining 70 percent of the games with online functions tested, precautionary measures and/or awareness-raising effects of the additional content were deemed sufficient to reduce possible risks.”
In concrete terms, this means that in 2023, the proportion of games (1,876 were tested in total, compared to 1,959 in 2022) that were launched on the market without age restrictions reached an all-time low of 20 percent. The number of titles with an age rating of 12 years and above has increased significantly – the figure rose from 35.5% to 39.3% compared to the previous year.
EA SPORTS FC 24 is a prominent newcomer, as the soccer game was released for ages 0 and up until FIFA 23. It was only the new testing rules mentioned above that led to a revised classification – von Petersdorff gave the exact background to this in an interview with eSport.
Milestone: Fortnite integrates the IARC system
The Google Play Store, Nintendo eShop, Microsoft, Meta, PlayStation Store and Amazon Luna had already integrated the IARC system. Fortnite joined this group in 2023. However, this only applies to playable content from first and third-party providers.
Anyone who wants to publish an island in Fortnite must fill out an IARC content evaluation questionnaire. Epic moderators then check this. The creator then receives “an age-based IARC rating for the content of the island as well as region-specific ratings from IARC participating rating bodies”.
According to the USK, over 200,000 islands now carry an IARC rating. The system offers “parents and gamers access to reliable and trustworthy ratings. This enables them to make informed decisions about which games they want to play and how they want to play them,” says the USK.
