GTA 6 Final Age Ratings: USK 18, CERO Z and ClassInd 18 Compared With GTA 5

The last three big ratings are in. Germany’s USK, Japan’s CERO and Brazil’s ClassInd have all put GTA 6 in their top adult bracket, joining the ESRB’s M for Mature 17+ and the PEGI 18 badge on European stores. None of that is a surprise. What’s more useful is how each board describes the game, how that compares with GTA 5 in 2013, and what each rating actually means for buyers and parents.

Germany: USK 18, on the board’s own site

This is the one rating we could read on the board’s website. The USK database has two GTA 6 entries, both “keine Jugendfreigabe gemäß § 14 JuSchG” (no youth release, the USK 18 label), published by Take-Two Interactive GmbH (Official):

• Xbox Series: review date September 13, 2026, USK no. 59552/26.
• PlayStation 5: review date October 13, 2026, USK no. 59715/26.

The reasons listed are “Drastische Gewalt” (violence that is “clearly visualized or overly focused”), “Drogen” (drug use “shown positively or often”), and “Kriminelle Rollenbilder,” criminal role models, which the USK explains with examples like robberies and illegal street races “presented as an adventure.” Both entries note in-game purchases. The German PlayStation Store words the third reason as “Problematische Vorbilder” (Official, store listing). The review date is when the USK looked at the game, not when the entry went public.

GTA 5 comparison. The USK gave GTA 5 the same rating in 2013: Xbox 360 on July 18 (no. 35780/13) and PS3 on September 5 (no. 36435/13) (Official). Those older entries list no reasons, so you can’t compare descriptors directly.

What it means. The USK says the label is set by the state and decides whether a game can be handed to children and teens in public, including in shops. Breaking the rule is an administrative offense under § 28 of the Youth Protection Act, with fines of up to €50,000. It also says the state doesn’t regulate what parents allow at home (Official).

Japan: CERO Z, from the stores

The Japanese PlayStation Store lists CERO Z with Crime (犯罪) and Violence (暴力), and states the game is not sold to anyone under 18 (Official, store listing). Game*Spark reported the store pages switched from 審査予定 (rating pending) to Z by 2:45 a.m. ET on October 17. The October 15 Launch Trailer still showed the pending mark (Reported). We haven’t read a GTA 6 entry on cero.gr.jp, so the board’s own record is Not confirmed.

GTA 5 comparison. GTA 5 launched in Japan on October 10, 2013 as CERO Z, and Dengeki Online’s notice at the time said under-18s could not buy it (Reported). CERO’s own rules say games with “prohibited expressions” get no rating at all, which is why content is sometimes changed for Japan (Official).

Brazil: ClassInd 18

Estadão/TecMundo reported on October 9 that the Ministry of Justice published GTA 6’s rating, “not recommended for under 18s,” in the Diário Oficial da União that day. The analysis summary is no. 598/2026. Descriptors: sexual content, drugs, inappropriate language and violence. Interactive elements: online purchases and adult content. Platforms: PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (Reported; we didn’t open the gazette ourselves). The Brazilian PlayStation Store now shows “ClassInd 18+,” up from “Rating Pending” on October 14 (Official, store listing).

What it means. The ministry’s own guide says the rating exists to inform parents “about the age for which certain content is not recommended, assuring them the right to choose,” and that it “does not restrict” content and “should not be confused with censorship” (Official). That makes it the softest of the three.

For context: ESRB and PEGI

The ESRB lists GTA 6 as M for Mature 17+ with Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, and Use of Drugs and Alcohol, plus In-Game Purchases (Official). That’s the same seven descriptors the ESRB gave GTA 5 on PS3 and Xbox 360 (Official). PEGI 18 appears on European PlayStation Store pages, but PEGI’s own page went up on October 2 and was pulled the same day (Reported, IGN).

What we don’t know

• Whether the Japanese version has any content changes (Not confirmed).
• When CERO and PEGI will list GTA 6 in their own databases.
• What the “in-game purchases” label covers. Rockstar hasn’t said.

More: all GTA 6 ratings, USK, CERO, Brazil and the parents’ guide.

Official Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2, Rockstar Games.