To keep violent and unsavory content from children, YouTube has set up some policies meant to protect them from such videos. Now, they’ve made some adjustment to their video game section, and it’s believed this is in preparation for the release of Grand Theft Auto 6.
YouTube: New Policy Changes Regarding Violent Video Game Content
Just recently, YouTube has posted an update to their policy regarding violent video games. On their support page, they outline was has been adjusted, stating that videos depicting game content of mass violence against non-combatants will be flagged as age-restricted, “we will age-restrict an additional small subset of video game content featuring realistic human characters that focuses on scenes of torture or scenes of mass violence against non-combatants”.
This is likely in preparation for the release of GTA 6, with the game looking quite realistic and there being more than enough innocent NPC victims walking around. Therefore, YouTube is likely anticipating an influx of violent videos, hence why they’re already making changes to their policies to give content creators time to adjust.
YouTube has outlined a few guidelines how they’ll assess the violence in the videos, stating that duration, prominence and realistic human characters are the prominent points looked at. So, if you play GTA 6 and accidentally hit an innocent bystander with your car, you’re not likely to be flagged. Therefore, these changes should only affect videos centered around the violence.
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Older Videos Also Affected
Not only is new content affected, but YouTube has also stated that any videos already on the website can be flagged. They write, “Content uploaded before that violates these guidelines may be removed or age-restricted, but will not result in a strike. Remember, age-restricted videos can stay on your channel for 18+ audiences”.
These changes are set to take effect November 17, 2025. Along with the violent video game content crackdown, YouTube is also going to enforce tougher regulations on gambling content on the website as well.
Sources: Google