The Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) is the voluntary self-regulation body of the games industry. It is responsible for age rating reviews of digital games in Germany.
The USK is recognized as the responsible self-regulatory body under both the German Federal Youth Protection Act and the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media of the Federal States. In the area of the German Youth Protection Act, state representatives issue the statutory age ratings at the end of a USK procedure on the recommendation of independent youth protection experts. The USK also assigns age ratings for online games and apps.
The USK also supports companies from the games industry in complying with and further developing the protection of minors – for example through technical protection measures. It is also committed to media education, for example with offers such as elternguide.online and other information formats.
The games submitted for USK review are played through in their entirety by trained volunteer reviewers and then presented to an independent review panel. The review panel consists of four youth protection experts and one permanent representative of the supreme state youth authorities (OLJB). The youth protection experts come from academia, media education, church institutions and youth facilities, and have experience in working with media and with children and young people. After extensive discussion, the youth protection experts recommend an age rating. The OLJB Permanent Representative may adopt or appeal this age release. Subsequently, the USK receives the test result and communicates it to the applicants. If they also do not appeal, triggering a new review, the game will receive the legal age rating by the OLJB’s Permanent Representation to the USK.
In the online sector, the USK assigns age ratings within the framework of the international system IARC (International Age Rating Coalition). This is an association of the various organizations responsible for age rating worldwide, such as ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) in the USA, Mexico and Canada, PEGI (Pan European Game Information) in Europe, ClassInd (Classificação Indicativa) in Brazil, GRAC (Game Rating and Administration Committee) in South Korea, DGSC (Digital Games Self-regulation Committee) in Taiwan, ACB (Australian Classification Board) in Australia and the USK in Germany.
At IARC, the providers of online games and apps go through a detailed questionnaire on content relevant to the protection of minors. An age rating is then issued from the respective entries according to the specifications and criteria of the respective national self-regulation (for Germany, the USK). Regular random quality checks ensure that these age labels are reliable and correct. In all distribution platforms connected to this system, age ratings from the USK are thus available. The connected systems include the Google Playstore, the Nintendo eShop, the Xbox Store, the Sony PlayStation Store and Fortnite.
There are set criteria for the age rating of digital games. These guiding criteria support the review bodies in assessing the risk of games that are not age-appropriate for children and young people and help in the decision-making process. They are adopted and adapted by the USK Advisory Board, which is made up of various social groups. The Advisory Board is made up of representatives from churches and religious communities, media education, the Federal Ministry for Youth, the youth ministries of the federal states, the Federal Centre for Child and Youth Media Protection (BzKJ), youth organizations and the computer games industry, as well as representatives of USK members and youth protection experts.
The focus of the review is the presumption of impact, i.e. the assumption that certain content could impair or even endanger the development of children and young people. These include criteria such as the atmosphere in the game, violence or pressure to act. Since 2023, so-called “usage risks”, for example functions such as chats, in-game purchases or location sharing, have also been taken into account in the review under youth protection law and can have an influence on the age rating. More information about the USK’s guiding criteria can be found on the USK’s website.
The age ratings awarded are USK 0 (released without age restriction), USK 6, USK 12, USK 16 and USK 18 (no youth rating).
Since January 2023, the USK age rating labels have included additional information on the reasons for the age rating and the online functions available in the game. This allows parents to see at a glance which reasons have led to the label (e.g. “comic violence” or “pressure to act”) and which risks should be kept in mind when using media (e.g. “chats”, “in-game purchases” or “location sharing”). The notices can be found on the back of the game packaging, on the corresponding online platforms and in the USK title database.
In Germany, the Basic Law (Article 6) allows parents to decide for themselves what media content they make available to their child. However, parents should only give or allow their children to play digital games that are safe for the child’s age. The USK age ratings are a helpful guide. If parents also want to know whether a game is educationally suitable, they can find relevant information on many recommendation pages. An educational assessment on digital games is provided, for example, by the NRW Game Guide, which is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
