Rockstar Games is reportedly planning to implement age verification in GTA Online to play the game or access some of the online game's features.
As reported by Tez2 on X, users may need to verify their age in the future to play the game or access certain features like phone messages, text chat, and Snapmatic. Tez2 couldn't say which regions could be targeted for these age verification checks, but there's little doubt players in the UK will be the first to be impacted by age verification if it goes into effect, considering the enforcement of the Online Safety Act is expected to ramp up in the coming months.
Although age checks are yet to become mandatory, select publishers and developers already started implementing some form of age verification ahead of time, like Roblox and Epic Games, to prevent younger players from accessing to some features like voice and or text chat, so it wouldn't be surprising for Rockstar Games to do the same in GTA Online, considering the game is constantly under intense scrutiny due to its setting and content. As the developer is also said to be working on a new version of their online game to coincide with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI next year, it will be interesting to see how age verification will impact this new project in some way.
GTA Online is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One. You can learn more about the game's latest updates on its official website.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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