- Australia's age verification rules for GTA 6 might lead to Rockstar paying up to $50 million in fines.
- A study has reported that Australia's age verification systems are not working properly as of now.
- Rockstar still has time to figure out the age verification system before the release of GTA 6.
It is no secret that players are counting down the days until the release of GTA 6, but it looks like Australia has a whole new headache in store for the folks over at Rockstar. Thanks to the newly implemented online safety rules, if Rockstar doesn’t nail the GTA 6 age verification, the company might have to pay massive fines of up to $50 million.
Australia’s Age Verification Laws Could Make Playing GTA 6 a Headache for Players Down Under
Australia recently toughened up its laws for any content rated R18+. Since GTA 6 is more than likely to fall into this category, Rockstar needs to put in a bulletproof way of verifying players’ ages. According to a report by news.com.au, if the Australian government decides the system is failing, Rockstar will have to pay fines per breach, which could snowball into a $50 million nightmare.
Needless to say, that is a massive amount of pressure for the biggest game launch of all time. While Rockstar has already added code related to age verification to the GTA 6 gameplay files, the functionality is not active as of now. However, there is a chance that the age verification will kick in when GTA 6 Online comes around. This is especially true since the age verification system is already implemented for Rockstar’s other services, like GTA 5 Online.
The more important aspect of this story is that, according to a study by Reuters, Australia’s age-check laws don’t really work. The study revealed that, even with laws designed to keep players out of apps like Roblox and TikTok, over 50 accounts claiming to be 16 were allowed in without an ID. This means that, if you have pre-ordered GTA 6 in Australia, there is a good chance the system simply does not verify your age before you load into the game.
If other big companies are having trouble with Australia’s age verification laws, you can see why Rockstar would be in a similarly rough spot. However, the full release of GTA 6, along with a potential third GTA 6 trailer, is still a while away. This means Rockstar still has time to figure out the complicated sign-up process to prove that they are following Australian law to a T.
What are your thoughts on players having to verify their ages to play GTA 6? Tell us in the comments below!
