Europe's rating board posted the game's full listing for a few hours and then removed it. It described violence with dismemberment, drugs used from the inventory and sex scenes. The rating is still PEGI 18.
Yesterday we reported that GTA 6 now has age ratings, but that the full listings weren't on the boards' own sites. Hours later, PEGI published its own, with far more detail than anyone expected. It didn't last.
What the listing said
The text is reported by GamesRadar, which read it before it vanished. PEGI justified the 18 with "strong graphic violence, strong sexual themes and use of illegal drugs", and detailed it like this:
- Violence: "Violence is bloody with a high degree of realism, with certain weapons being able to cause greater damage such as detailed decapitation and dismemberment."
- Drugs: "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 adds: "cocaine can be carried around by the player and snorted directly from their hand at any time."
- Sex: "strong sexual themes", with "scenes of intercourse and occasional scenes of sexual fetishes".
- Clubs: in various night clubs the player can pay for private dances, during which the game lets them move their hands onto the dancers' breasts and buttocks.
And then it disappeared
The listing is gone. We checked on 3 October: PEGI's search returns earlier GTAs, GTA V included, but not GTA VI. PEGI hasn't explained why it was removed. Most likely it went up early: Eurogamer suggested yesterday that this information was still embargoed. Removing it doesn't change the rating: stores still show 18.
One caution: since the page no longer exists, what remains are quotes from outlets that read it and screenshots saved by users. Until PEGI republishes it, treat it as a real but withdrawn text, not the final version.
What's new for the series and what isn't
Not all of it would be new. GTA V already had strip clubs with private dances where you could touch, and its characters already used drugs in some scenes. What would be new:
- Using drugs from your inventory, at any time. In earlier GTAs drugs appeared in specific scenes or places.
- Decapitation and dismemberment. Rockstar already had them in Red Dead Redemption 2, but not in a GTA.
- Explicit sex scenes. It's what the Australian PlayStation Store listing already pointed to, and it fits a story where Jason and Lucia's relationship is central.
The controversy to come
GTA has always thrived on controversy, and this guarantees another round. The last time sex in a GTA made headlines was Hot Coffee, San Andreas's hidden minigame, which ended with the game pulled from shelves and re-rated in the US. Back then it was hidden content Rockstar never meant to show. Now, if the listing is accurate, it's in the game on purpose and with the rating to match: adults only.
FAQ
What is GTA 6's PEGI rating?
PEGI 18. The detailed listing was published and removed within hours, but the rating hasn't changed.
Can you use drugs in GTA 6?
According to the PEGI listing reported by the press, yes: the player can use drugs from their inventory, and cocaine can be snorted from the hand at any time.
Why did PEGI remove GTA 6's listing?
It hasn't said. Most likely it was published early.
Sources
What this article is based on. Official Rockstar sources first; titles are shown in their original language.
