The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the content rating board for games released in North America, has issued an "Adults Only" (AO) rating for 24 released video games. AO is the highest rating in the ESRB system, and indicates that the organization believes that the game's content is suitable only for players aged 18 years and over.
The majority of AO-rated games are adult video games, typically those with pornographic or strong sexual content. Four games have been given the rating solely due to extreme levels of violence: the canceled Thrill Kill (1998), the initial cuts of The Punisher (2005), Manhunt 2 (2007), and Hatred (2015). The only game to receive the rating for reasons other than pornographic content or extreme violence is Peak Entertainment Casinos (2003), which allows players to gamble using real money. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) was temporarily re-rated from M ("Mature") to AO after a sexually-explicit minigame was found hidden in the game, but the M rating was reinstated after Rockstar Games patched out the content.
Self-imposed restrictions by publishers, distributors, and retailers limit the availability of AO-rated games, thus the rating has been described by journalists as a "kiss of death" and de facto ban.[1][2][3] All three major video game console manufacturers (Nintendo,[1][4]Microsoft,[5] and Sony[6][7]) prohibit AO-rated games from being published on their platforms. In May 2015, the video game livestreaming service Twitch updated its content guidelines to include a blanket ban on streaming AO-rated games, citing that a previous policy on games containing overt sexual content or extreme violence (which assessed games on a case-by-case basis) was unclear and confusing to broadcasters.[8]
Peak Entertainment, a provider of online gambling services, submitted its product to the ESRB for an AO rating to demonstrate its commitment to discouraging underage gambling.[1] It is the only AO-rated game to receive the rating for reasons unrelated to violence or sexual content.[29][30]
Strong sexual content, nudity, strong language, use of drugs
Developed by a studio led by former Guerrilla Games employees Miriam Bellard and Andrejs Skuja, it was pulled from the Steam Greenlight program for its sexual content.[39][40]
Blood, nudity, sexual violence, strong language, strong sexual content
Unlike other self-rated games by MangaGamer, this game was sent to the ESRB at the request from the Japanese developer in order to get a green-light for a hardcopy release in the United States.[43]
The game, along with its Steam Greenlight campaign, had been controversial due to its premise, which focuses on a main character who indiscriminately murders every person he encounters.[46][47][48]
Games that received, but were not released with an AO rating
In some cases, a game that initially received an AO rating from the ESRB was edited prior to their initial release in order to meet the criteria for an M rating. In selected cases, an AO-rated game was cancelled prior to its release, temporarily received the rating post-release due to the inclusion of normally-inaccessible content that met the rating, the uncut version of the game was released at a later date with an AO rating, or an unrated or self-rated version, patch, or downloadable content (DLC) was released via a platform with more liberal content rules (such as Steam).
The game's release was cancelled after publisher Virgin Interactive's U.S. operations were acquired by Electronic Arts, which objected to the game's subject matter.[51]
Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs
Originally rated M, San Andreas was temporarily re-rated AO following the discovery of an incomplete "Hot Coffee" minigame that could be enabled with a mod or cheating device, which featured characters engaging in sexual intercourse. Its rating was changed back to M after Rockstar released a patch that removes the offending content entirely.[53][54]
Blood and gore, drug reference, intense violence, strong language
The game was edited prior to release to meet the M rating, including adding a black and whitevisual effect to the "interrogation" sequences, which typically consist of the player committing various brutal torture methods to an enemy or innocent victim. If an NPC is killed in these scenarios, the camera also usually zooms in on the Punisher's face instead of depicting their death.[56][failed verification]
Blood, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs and alcohol, violence
Sex scenes were edited out of the game to meet the M rating for its North American release, which was also retitled Indigo Prophecy.Quantic Dream CEO Guillaume de Fondaumière remarked that many players imported the uncut European release instead.[59] The ESRB lists a "director's cut" of the game on PC as having an AO rating,[58] but it is unknown if this was ever publicly released. A 2015 remaster of the game received an M rating with no cuts.[60][61][62]
Blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs
The game was edited prior to release to meet the M rating.[63][37] In 2009, an uncut version was released for PC under the AO rating.[36] Both cuts were also refused classification in the United Kingdom, but Rockstar successfully appealed for an "18" rating on the M-rated edit.[64][63][65]
Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content
The game was edited prior to release to meet the M rating.[66] In 2018, the game's PC version released a patch on Steam that reinstated the cut content.[66] The Australian Classification Board originally refused to give the game a classification, effectively banning it from being released until an edited version was granted an R18+ classification.[67]
Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content
The game was originally given an AO rating, but was edited in order to meet the M rating.[68] The game's developer Madmind Studio intended to release a patch for the PC version to restore the cut content,[69] but it was blocked by its publisher for "legal reasons".[70] The game was reissued on Steam as the self-published Agony Unrated in October 2018, which is uncensored and contains other patches and improvements.[70]
**The BBFC still exists as a motion picture rating system. Additionally, it continues to rate video games containing pornographic, or having external video material.
