GTA 6 has been given a PEGI 18 rating in the UK and Europe, unsurprisingly, but the very detailed description of the game's contents suggests an even more violent, sexually explicit game than you might expect from the notoriously violent, sexually explicit series.
Rockstar's upcoming behemoth has already been rated by the ESRB and other rating systems, but the PEGI rating specifically includes some incredibly juicy new details about the game. In providing a reason for the 18+ rating, the board says GTA 6 features "features strong graphic violence, strong sexual themes and use of illegal drugs." No surprise whatsoever. Sex, drugs, and violence are GTA's whole thing, its central themes, its promise to players. But if I were playing GTA 6 and suddenly someone's head got chopped off in graphic detail, I have to say I'd be a little surprised. But apparently, that's something that can happen in the game. "Violence is bloody with a high degree of realism, with certain weapons being able to cause greater damage such as detailed decapitation and dismemberment," reads the PEGI rating's description.
"Drug use is frequent and prominent with the player being able to partake in drug use with others and to use illegal drugs directly from their inventory," it says, adding, "Most notably, cocaine can be carried around by the player and snorted directly from their hand at any time." Again, I'm not surprised at all that drugs are featured prominently in GTA 6, but I wasn't expecting the player character to huff lines right from their hands. This game sounds wild.
"There are also strong sexual themes," reads the rating. ZzzZZZzzZZZzz. Strong sexual themes? That's not the GTA I know. But wait, the game also features "scenes of intercourse and occasional scenes of sexual fetishes," and "In various night clubs the player can also pay for private dances, during which, the game allows the player to move their hands onto the dancers' breasts and buttocks."
All joking aside, GTA 6 sounds like a wildly fun time based on this age rating description. Rockstar has long positioned its next game to be a sweeping evolution of the franchise, its biggest, most extravagant release ever, and the biggest video game release of all time by a variety of metrics. At first I was shocked by the level of detail presented by the age rating, but thinking more on it, these extremely mature features feel like a natural progression for a series that's always been defined by excess. November 19 is going to be one hell of a day.
