These are final certificates rather than provisional ones. Rockstar carried a Rating Pending placeholder through most of the marketing campaign and swapped in the real rating across its own site and the PlayStation and Xbox store listings on October 1, 2026.
The ESRB listing cites blood and gore, intense violence, mature humour, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, and use of drugs and alcohol. The inclusion of nudity and strong sexual content is a step beyond GTA V’s descriptors.
PEGI 18 is the highest band available in Europe and carries broadly equivalent warnings. The R 18+ and R18 classifications in Australia and New Zealand are also their respective top tiers.
Mature 17+ and PEGI 18 are the strictest ratings these boards issue, and GTA VI earns them across every descriptor category rather than for one isolated element. The game is built for adults.
Storefronts enforce these ratings at purchase on both PlayStation and Xbox, and both platforms offer parental controls that block Mature-rated titles at the account level if you need them.