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.
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 ratings make it easy for parents to get informed about the video games their kids play, but there’s more parents can do to stay involved and up to date. Learn how to set parental controls, manage your kids’ gameplay experiences using our Family Gaming Guide, download the ESRB mobile app, and more.
Parental controls are available for virtually every device and allow you to block games and apps by rating, set time limits, manage in-game purchases, restrict access to the Internet, and more
This user-friendly guide will help provide you with the information you need to manage your kids’ video gameplay experiences and keep peace of mind.
Use our free mobile app to look up rating information, including Rating Summaries, on the go.
Las clasificaciones de ESRB facilitan que los padres estén informados sobre los videojuegos que juegan sus hijos, pero hay más cosas que los padres pueden hacer para mantenerse involucrados y actualizados.
Whether through board games, pen-and-paper RPGs, or video games – gaming has always been a part of our household. Like most families, we also watch movies and television together, but the interactive nature of playing video games is something that we truly cherish. I fondly remember when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild […]
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.
Learn More on Parental controlsFounded 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.com65% of the ESRB ratings assigned to physical and console downloadable video games in 2024 were either E (Everyone) or E10+ (Everyone 10+).
Learn More on our Blog83% of parents with kids who play video games are aware of ESRB ratings and 77% regularly check them before buying a game. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2025)
Learn More on our BlogAccording to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission 87% of kids under the age of 17 are turned away when trying to buy an M-rated game at retail.
Learn More on our BlogIntroduced 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.
Learn More on Ratings GuideThe E (Everyone) rating was originally called K-A (Kids to Adults) but was changed in 1998.
Learn More in History of ESRBIt’s never too late to have “the conversation” with your kids about what, when, and how they can play!
Learn More on Family gaming guideIn 1999 ESRB Privacy Online (now called ESRB Privacy Certified) launched its certification program and was sanctioned by the FTC as a “Safe Harbor” under Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Learn More on privacyMost 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, 2025)
Learn More on Ratings GuideESRB 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 ProcessThe 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.govESRB uses more than 30 different Content Descriptors to help communicate what’s in a game.
Learn More on Ratings GuideThe ESRB rating system has three parts – Rating Categories, Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements, the latter of which were introduced in 2013.
Learn More on Ratings GuideIndustry guidelines, which are enforced by the ESRB, prohibit the inappropriate target marketing of Mature-rated games.
Learn More about Principles and GuidelinesThe 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.
Learn More on our BlogMore than 67% of parents would be more comfortable allowing their children to download and play a game certified by ESRB Privacy Certified (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2024).
Learn More on privacyActivating 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.
Learn More on Parental controlsFounded 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.com65% of the ESRB ratings assigned to physical and console downloadable video games in 2024 were either E (Everyone) or E10+ (Everyone 10+).
Learn More on our Blog83% of parents with kids who play video games are aware of ESRB ratings and 77% regularly check them before buying a game. (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2025)
Learn More on our BlogAccording to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission 87% of kids under the age of 17 are turned away when trying to buy an M-rated game at retail.
Learn More on our BlogIntroduced 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.
Learn More on Ratings GuideThe E (Everyone) rating was originally called K-A (Kids to Adults) but was changed in 1998.
Learn More in History of ESRBIt’s never too late to have “the conversation” with your kids about what, when, and how they can play!
Learn More on Family gaming guideIn 1999 ESRB Privacy Online (now called ESRB Privacy Certified) launched its certification program and was sanctioned by the FTC as a “Safe Harbor” under Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Learn More on privacyMost 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, 2025)
Learn More on Ratings GuideESRB 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 ProcessThe 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.govESRB uses more than 30 different Content Descriptors to help communicate what’s in a game.
Learn More on Ratings GuideThe ESRB rating system has three parts – Rating Categories, Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements, the latter of which were introduced in 2013.
Learn More on Ratings GuideIndustry guidelines, which are enforced by the ESRB, prohibit the inappropriate target marketing of Mature-rated games.
Learn More about Principles and GuidelinesThe 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.
Learn More on our BlogMore than 67% of parents would be more comfortable allowing their children to download and play a game certified by ESRB Privacy Certified (Source: Hart Research Associates, 2024).
Learn More on privacyActivating 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.
Learn More on Parental controls