GTA 6 Gamers Glad It'll Be Unplayable for Under-18s

The internet is in the midst of a period of change.

Let’s face it, it’s more unsavoury of a place than it’s ever been with social media sites providing young users with easy access to inappropriate content.

Once upon a time, my X/Twitter feed was a cherished realm, providing me with the latest gaming, Taylor Swift, and Disneyland Paris updates.

Now, it appears the algorithm almost exclusively pushes content that once upon a time would’ve been reported and removed.

Yes, many of us are old enough to turn a blind eye and scroll past what we don’t wish to see, but the same cannot be said for young, impressionable users.

The problem extends beyond social media, with young people having access to pretty much any content they wish if they try hard enough.

It’s why ‘age verification’ is the buzzword of the season.

The UK recently brought in The Online Safety Act demanding that sites implement age verification methods; we’ve already seen Xbox outline its upcoming changes.

This isn’t a situation unique to the UK though, with plenty of other countries in the midst of drafting similar laws, which is why so many sites are getting ahead of the curve and bringing in age verification systems early.

Rockstar Games is seemingly set to do that with GTA Online, as discovered by leaker Tez2 and shared by GTAVI_Countdown.

Leaked screenshots revealed a page that read, “Please verify your age to access online features.”

Another included “Verify Age” as an option in the game’s settings.

While Rockstar hasn’t formally announced the changes just yet, it’s likely that users will need to provide either proof of ID or submit to a visual age estimation check, as we’ve seen other sites implement.

It’s with all of this in mind that it’s likely that we could see GTA VI introduce similar checks, although whether that’ll apply to the base game or simply its online mode remains uncertain.

Let’s face it, it’s probably going to have an age 18 rating.

There are plenty of fans pleased at the prospect of such a responsible change.

“Good. They need to do this to COD too,” wrote one Twitter user.

Others felt sorry for those who might miss out, reminiscing on convincing their parents to get GTA V in their younger years.

Of course, we should take all of this with a hefty pinch of salt until something is confirmed by Rockstar, but I definitely think it’s worth anticipating there being weight in this leak.