Australia to Introduce Age Verification for GTA Online, Red Dead Online, and More

Since the initial conversations regarding mandatory age verification for gamers in the UK, it was widely expected that similar policies would eventually cross borders. That transition has now reached Australian shores: starting Monday, March 9, residents must authenticate their age to access GTA Online and Red Dead Online, with the highly anticipated GTA 6 multiplayer components following suit later this year.

This shift is driven by the implementation of the new Age-Restricted Material Codes legislation. Under these regulations, adult users are required to complete a verification process to access 18+ rated multiplayer games, adult content, AI chatbots, and other restricted digital services. The financial consequences for non-compliance are severe; publishers and developers who fail to enforce these checks face potential fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (roughly 33 million US dollars) for each violation.

Rockstar Games has been preparing for this regulatory shift since last year, providing a glimpse into how the mandatory verification interface will appear within the GTA Online ecosystem.

The rollout has sparked considerable frustration among the gaming community. Beyond the inconvenience, many users are deeply concerned about data privacy, as their sensitive personal documents are being shared not only with government agencies but also with third-party verification firms tasked with managing the process.

 

Source: gta.com.ua