Google Play App Content Rating Statistics 2024

Content ratings for mobile apps and games, much like their antecedents in the film, television, and video game industries, were instituted to help consumers understand the suitability of their subjects for particular age groups and audiences. What’s more, as the mobile industry has flourished, content ratings have blossomed into a uniquely valuable tool. Indeed, they can be leveraged in a variety of impactful ways by, not only consumers, but developers, marketers, and advertisers, as well.

For instance, app content ratings can be leveraged to improve ad targeting by putting the right messages in front of the right audiences. Additionally, they serve to inform prospective customers of potentially objectionable content, to block or filter content in certain territories or to specific users where legally required, and to evaluate whether an app is eligible for special developer programs.

Moreover, content ratings provide users with a welcome layer of transparency. That is, if an app has content targeted towards mature audiences, and is rated accordingly, users sensitive to such content will be less likely to download the app. Consequently, they will be less likely to leave aggravated reviews following bad experiences with the content.

Apps are primarily evaluated based on their subject matter, including their treatment of violence, blood, gore, drugs and other intoxicating substances, crude language, crude humor, gambling, nudity, and sex. In addition, some content raters, such as the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), will consider whether apps collect and share location or personal information, enable user interaction, share user-generated content, or offer in-app digital purchases.

Some organizations responsible for rating content include the aforementioned International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and Pan European Game Information (PEGI). More on these later.

PEGI provides age classifications for video games in 38 European countries. While PEGI uses a single set of criteria to determine the age rating of video games, they use two different rating procedures for pre-release verification and post-release verification for digital products. For apps available on Google Play, PEGI relies on the methodology developed by the IARC. PEGI places games in the following age-based categories:  3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, PG, Unrated.

ESRB ratings are officially recognized and implemented in three major countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.

They apply different methodologies depending on whether they are rating a game that is available physically (e.g. boxed) or digitally (e.g. mobile apps). For digital games, ESRB relies on the IARC questionnaire methodology. ESRB places games into the following categories: Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature 17+, Adults Only 18+, and Rating Pending.

Classificação Indicativa (ClassInd) rates audiovisual content sold and distributed across Brazil.This includes content for television, film, electronic games, applications, and role-playing games (RPG). Their age rating categories are: All Ages, 10+, 12+, 14+, 16+, 18+, Unrated.

Under the "Game Industry Promotion Act," anyone who intends to produce or distribute games in South Korea must obtain a content rating from the GRAC. GRAC places content in the following categories: All Ages, 3+, 7+, 12+, 15+, 16+, 17+, 18+. Under "the Game Industry Promotion Act," the definition of game material includes PC packaging, PC online, Mobile, Arcade, Video-Console, Downloaded, Embedded games, and more.