How ESRB video game ratings work

The rating on a video game sold in the U.S. comes from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which describes itself as “the non-profit, self-regulatory body for the video game industry.” Each rating has three parts: a Rating Category that suggests the ages a game suits, Content Descriptors that flag the content behind that rating, and Interactive Elements that warn about online features and in-game purchases.

The industry set up the system in 1994. The ESRB was founded by the Interactive Digital Software Association, which was renamed the Entertainment Software Association in 2004 and still owns the ESRB rating icons as trademarks.

The rating categories

The categories have changed over time. The original K-A (Kids to Adults) category became E (Everyone) in 1998, and E10+ was added in 2005. Most games land in the lower bands: in 2025, 90% of the 6,761 ratings the ESRB assigned were E, E10+ or T, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Content descriptors

Content Descriptors “indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.” They include terms such as Blood and Gore, Fantasy Violence, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Simulated Gambling and Real Gambling. They are applied relative to the rating, so a descriptor should be read alongside the category it accompanies, and the word “Mild” signals low frequency, intensity or severity. The ESRB says descriptors are not meant to be a complete list of a game's content.

For example, PlayStation's store page for Marvel's Wolverine lists Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity and Strong Language, plus the In-Game Purchases notice.

Interactive elements

Interactive Elements flag online features and purchases. They “do not influence the rating assignment,” so a game rated E can still let players chat or buy items. There are five:

• In-Game Purchases: offers to buy digital goods with real money, such as skins, levels, virtual currency, subscriptions or season passes.
• In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items): purchases where the player does not know in advance what they will get, such as loot boxes, item packs or mystery awards.
• Users Interact: possible exposure to unfiltered user-generated content, including messages between players and shared media.
• Shares Location: the app can show a user's location to other users.
• Unrestricted Internet: the product gives open access to the internet, for example through a browser or search engine.

How a boxed game is rated

For a game sold on disc or cartridge, the publisher sends the ESRB a questionnaire about the content, covering violence, sex, language and gambling as well as context, rewards and player control, and a video of typical gameplay, missions and cutscenes that must include the most extreme content. Content locked out of play must also be disclosed if it is relevant to the rating.

At least three trained raters review the video and recommend a category, descriptors and interactive elements. The ESRB confirms the result, sometimes after a parity review to keep it consistent with similar games, and writes a Rating Summary explaining it. The publisher can accept the rating or change the game and resubmit it. Raters do not play games through during rating, which the ESRB says would be impractical for games that can run past 50 hours, but some play-test games after release to check that the disclosure was complete. Their identities are kept confidential, and they may not have ties to the game industry.

How a digital game is rated

Games sold only as downloads are rated through a system developed by the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). Developers answer a questionnaire before release that assigns the category, descriptors and interactive elements; these games do not get Rating Summaries. When the ESRB announced the system in 2015, it said the single questionnaire was free for developers and produced ratings for several territories at once, including ESRB ratings in North America, PEGI in Europe, ClassInd in Brazil, USK in Germany and the Classification Board in Australia. The ESRB says it monitors IARC ratings, tests products after release and can correct a rating's display quickly.

Who enforces it

The system is voluntary, but the ESRB says all console manufacturers, as well as certain U.S. retailers and mobile or online storefronts, require ESRB ratings for what they sell. Because a printed rating is hard to change once a boxed game ships, publishers that fail to disclose content can face sanctions including fines of up to $1 million. The ESRB's Advertising Review Council checks that ratings appear correctly on packaging and in advertising, and there are limits on where ads for Mature-rated games may run.

What the rating does not cover

A rating describes the game as submitted. Songs streamed or downloaded as add-ons in music games are not rated, and the ESRB uses a separate notice to say so. Downloadable content usually inherits the main game's rating, unless it goes beyond it, in which case it must be submitted and may be rated differently. What other players say or share online is flagged by Users Interact rather than rated.

Most parents know the system. The ESRB cites a 2025 Hart Research Associates survey finding that 83% of parents of children who play video games are aware of the ratings and 77% regularly check them before buying a game. For who plays and how families manage it, see what the ESA's 2026 survey shows.