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[SteamDB] Steam will no longer display games with no Age Rating in Germany starting 15th November 2024
- Thread starter Super
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This puts a huge burden on smaller devs, who might not be able to get a valid age rating for every single country. Germany has its own age rating system, right? I would understand if this law focuses on large studios, but they should really exclude smaller companies from this. Might as well just ban small indie games at that point.
Germany continues to have some of the dumbest internet regulations in any 1st tier developed country.
It's like they hate the idea of it, otherwise I can't explain why they go out of their way to sabotage online functionality.
It's like they hate the idea of it, otherwise I can't explain why they go out of their way to sabotage online functionality.
That's really dumb. If the account belongs to someone over 18, who cares?
Germany should start using PEGI anyway, I don't understand why they still have their own rating system.
Edit: never mind, if the Steam rating is valid this is probably a nonissue.
Germany should start using PEGI anyway, I don't understand why they still have their own rating system.
Edit: never mind, if the Steam rating is valid this is probably a nonissue.
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OP
OP
Steam rating questionnaire
New
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
For reference, I think this is the questionnaire that's referenced.
I don't think this is as arduous a process as ESRB/PEGI/USK. It seems like a self-attestation to the content contained in the game, and it's built-in to Steam, too.
EDIT: Madjoki beat me to it. I don't think this is too big of a deal for new games, but it will impact older ones with inactive developers.
I don't think this is as arduous a process as ESRB/PEGI/USK. It seems like a self-attestation to the content contained in the game, and it's built-in to Steam, too.
EDIT: Madjoki beat me to it. I don't think this is too big of a deal for new games, but it will impact older ones with inactive developers.
Oh that is really neat, was no aware that indie game devs could do that directly in Steam. Still leaves the vast majority of older titles that will just go poof for people from GermanySteam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
idk if that is counted as "valid" or if they require a USK rating
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
Is that a valid and recognised thing in Germany, that's the question. You don't self-assign yourself an age rating when you release on consoles, for example, you go through age rating boards and their processes.
Well, USK is about to make an awful lot of money out of this, that's why.
So will I not be able to buy most indi games going forward? Balatro doesn't seem to have an age rating.
Will 95% of games not be available in Germany anymore?????
This could be catastrophic if it works like I think it does?
It doesn't seem that expensive USK cost, I thought it was a lot more expensive to get your game tested. But do they even have the manpower to test that many games in a timely fashion. And for a small Indie dev it's probably still to much money and work to do this.
Will 95% of games not be available in Germany anymore?????
This could be catastrophic if it works like I think it does?
It doesn't seem that expensive USK cost, I thought it was a lot more expensive to get your game tested. But do they even have the manpower to test that many games in a timely fashion. And for a small Indie dev it's probably still to much money and work to do this.
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The tweet in the OP (which is quoting Steamworks Documention) literally says to complete the questionnaire truthfully and publish the results. No mention of mandatory USK ratings.
I imagine Steam is using IARC to generate international age ratings and, yes, this is accepted by the USK.
You only need a dedicated USK rating if you publish your game physically.
It doesn't need to be USK rating. It can be ANY rating. Including Steam's rating. This is mentioned by Valve
Well, in the case of Balatro it went through the USK certification because there's a physical version.
The USK (German ratings board for games) is only mandatory for games on discs.
Streaming Services like Netflix have their own ratings in Germany so I guess its valid for steam as well.
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
I doubt every little steam publisher is gonna do put in the work, especially the ones that haven't formally supported their games in years. That's not even counting the publishers that have been long defunct.
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
If this is all that's needed - okay. But otherwise it's like I'm back in the early 2000s with censorship in games forcing me to get Steam keys out of country which sucked a lot!
Hopefully it's not full USK that's needed because that is way too expensive for most indie devs.
Steam gives automatic rating for games in Germany since March 2023 (also for Brazil, since 2020-ish).
It's only issue for games released before that date.
It's relatively simple survey you have to answer.
Let's hope this is enough, not trusting the government to totally fuck this up.
Reminds me of Sony demanding Japanese developers to send game documentation in English before allowing their games on PlayStation. Similar unnecessary bully move that hurts customers more than it helps.
And there's zero reason why all games shouldn't be automatically available when logged in as a verified 18+ account.
And there's zero reason why all games shouldn't be automatically available when logged in as a verified 18+ account.
Age ratings are mandatory (as mandated by the platform holders) on every other platform ranging from App Store and Google Play to PSN, eShop and Xbox. It's a complete non-issue, a solved problem, the generated age ratings are enough.
What's puzzling is that Steam hasn't required devs to publish an age rating ages ago. This will leave a lot of old, no longer supported games stranded if applied retroactively and to a large degree this could have been prevented by Steam mandating their devs to use a free and quick international standard that's been around for ten years already.
huh? every game needed an age rating since 2002. it is mandatory. otherwise, shadow compley could have never released on xbl.
every freaking shovelware game on psn/xbl and switch online has an age rating from the usk. this is not an issue.
I like to think there was some reviewer at PEGI or USK in 2022 that every week was really looking forward to seeing what new food would be Jumping onto the PS Store that week.
no, its not. the laws have not changed in the last 20 years. steam decided to ignore them and now they are finding out.
every game sold in germany must have an age rating and 99.5% of them do. the rating board even offers a simplified rating process (for smaller/indie games) that is a lot faster/cheaper.
Don't act like germany doesn't have more often than not a dumb special way *cough*Schuldenbremse*cough* compared to the rest of the World.
So, a non-issue if it doesn't mean USK rating.
Glad there is an option to hide those in the store.
Glad there is an option to hide those in the store.
I just looked through all Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard, Konami, Playstation and Xbox games and the following titles don`t seem to show a USK or Steam rating on the store page from what I have seen:
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures, Aces of the Galaxy, An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, AoE III (2007),AoM: Extended Edition, Arcanum, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Call to Power II, Caesar 3, Caesar IV, COD, COD 2, COD 4, COD: World at War, COD: WWII, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Everybody`s Gone to the Rapture, Fable Anniverary, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, Gabriel Knight 3, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Ghostwire: Tokyo - Präludium, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, King`s Quest Collection, Phantasmagoria, Phantasmagoria 2, Pharaoh + Cleopatra, Pillars of Eternity, Police Quest Collection, Police Quest: SWAT, Prey, Prey: Typhon Hunter, Quake Live, Quake Champions, Quest for Glory 1-5, Return to Krondor, Return to Zork, Skelattack, Space Quest Collection, Spycraft: The Great Game, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, SWAT 3, TES: Arena, TES II: Daggerfall, TES III: Morrowind GotY Edition, TES IV: Oblivion GotY Edition + Deluxe, TES Adventures: Redguard, The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery, The Maw, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Wolfenstein: The New Order International Edition, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Internatinal Version, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot German Version + International Version, Wolfenstein: Youngblood German Version, Zeus + Poseidon, Zork Anthology, Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Zork Nemesis
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures, Aces of the Galaxy, An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, AoE III (2007),AoM: Extended Edition, Arcanum, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Call to Power II, Caesar 3, Caesar IV, COD, COD 2, COD 4, COD: World at War, COD: WWII, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Everybody`s Gone to the Rapture, Fable Anniverary, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, Gabriel Knight 3, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Ghostwire: Tokyo - Präludium, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, King`s Quest Collection, Phantasmagoria, Phantasmagoria 2, Pharaoh + Cleopatra, Pillars of Eternity, Police Quest Collection, Police Quest: SWAT, Prey, Prey: Typhon Hunter, Quake Live, Quake Champions, Quest for Glory 1-5, Return to Krondor, Return to Zork, Skelattack, Space Quest Collection, Spycraft: The Great Game, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, SWAT 3, TES: Arena, TES II: Daggerfall, TES III: Morrowind GotY Edition, TES IV: Oblivion GotY Edition + Deluxe, TES Adventures: Redguard, The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery, The Maw, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Wolfenstein: The New Order International Edition, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Internatinal Version, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot German Version + International Version, Wolfenstein: Youngblood German Version, Zeus + Poseidon, Zork Anthology, Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Zork Nemesis
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Already moving goalposts? Steam is the problem here, not germany.
I feel like the people who are REALLY mad at this haven't read the entire tweet in the OP.
This seems absolutely fine.
This seems absolutely fine.
I tried asking how IARC worked in the thread that got bolted shut about the eshop. It's one of those things that had had a lot of thought and effort put into it to standardise and de-mystify things like this. Of course it's still confusing to a layperson but I'm lazy.
What was that EU-driven initiative years ago that tried to enforce (and of course was successful) a range of things major sites predominantly based in US (or anywhere not in EU for that matter) to comply with?
What was that EU-driven initiative years ago that tried to enforce (and of course was successful) a range of things major sites predominantly based in US (or anywhere not in EU for that matter) to comply with?
I would have thought that games from defunct developers/publishers could just be automatically bumped up to adult only rather than blocked from sale. Steam has been around for long enough that there's plenty of games in that situation, even things like deceased solo developers etc.