Like literally every year in the past, E for Everyone is the most assigned Rating Category for physical and console downloadable games in 2025. Not only that, but last year E for Everyone accounted for more than 50% of the more than 6,500 ratings assigned.

Read on for more about our Rating Category stats from 2025.

E (Everyone)

52% of all ratings assigned to physical and console downloadable games in 2025 were rated E for Everyone. This means that more than 3,500 games rated in 2025, including many of the most popular ones, are appropriate for the whole family!

E10+ (Everyone 10+)

ESRB assigned Everyone 10+ to 15% of the games rated in 2025. This means about 67% of the games released (or rereleased) throughout the year may be appropriate for your 10-year-old!

T (Teen 13+)

Just like in 2024, 23% of the games rated last year were assigned T for Teen in 2025. This amounts to more than 1,550 physical and console downloadable games. Combined with E for Everyone and Everyone 10+, this means that 9 out of every 10 games rated in 2025 were appropriate for your 13-year-old!

M (Mature 17+)

M for Mature is historically the least frequently assigned rating category, and 2025 continued that trend. ESRB assigned 10% of the physical and console downloadable games and M for Mature rating. This is 2% lower than 2024, and the lowest percentage since 2019.

Managing Your Kids’ Video Game Experiences

Checking the ratings is a great first step to help decide if a game is appropriate for your family. Sometimes the ESRB-assigned rating information is all you’ll need, but if you’re still on the fence there are many resources readily available to find more information.

• Check all three parts of the rating – Parents tell us that all three parts of the ESRB rating system are important so don’t forget to check a game’s Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements. Content Descriptors provide additional information about what led to a game’s age rating, such as language, violence, humor, and more. Interactive Elements let you know when a game has the ability for players to communicate via voice chat, text, user generated content, and more.
• Check the Rating Summary – Physical games all have Rating Summaries that provide more detailed information about what led to a rating assignment. You can find these by searching for a game on ESRB.org or the ESRB App (for Android and iOS).
• Visit ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide – For more information about picking appropriate games, maintaining your kids’ online privacy, managing screen time, and more, ESRB’s Family Gaming Guide has you covered.
• Additional research – Any game that your kids may be clamoring for will have some video available to watch online. This may come in the form of a trailer, gameplay videos, “let’s plays” with streamers, and more. Websites like YouTube and Twitch can be a great resource to learn more about a game before purchasing or downloading for your kids.  And we always recommend that you play games with your kids, which is a great way to better appreciate their experiences…and have a great time.
• Set parental controls – Virtually all video game devices include the ability to activate parental controls. These give you the ability to manage which games your kids play based on the rating, when and for how long they can play, whether they can communicate online with others, and how much money they can spend (if any!) on new games or in-game purchases. ESRB provides free, step-by-step parental controls guides here.

And remember: ESRB ratings are here to suggest the age-appropriateness of a game. There can still be games that are too complex or challenging for your younger kids, regardless of their ratings. So, double-check with a few minutes of additional research to make sure your family has as much fun as possible with their next video game, including playing games together as a family

The post Rating Category Breakdown: 90% of Games Rated in 2025 Are Age-Appropriate for Your 13-Year-Old appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Any parent or teacher with kids under the age of 14 are probably already aware, but millions of young gamers are hurtling headfirst into Gorilla Tag, an online, multiplayer VR game with constantly changing game modes. Are your kids ready to become a “monke” (the name for in-game characters) and engage in fast-paced, physical tag? Read on to find out.

Is Gorilla Tag Appropriate for Kids?

Gorilla Tag is rated E for Everyone with a Content Descriptor for Mild Fantasy Violence. The rating for Gorilla Tag also includes two Interactive Elements: Users Interact (meaning players can communicate through the game) and In-Game Purchases (meaning users can use real money to purchase virtual currency that can be used to purchase in-game content).

In its most basic form, Gorilla Tag is a cartoony, heightened game of virtual tag. However, according to the ESRB assigned Rating Summary, “monkes” can use “slingshots or cartoony bows-and-arrows to damage combatants,” which is obviously quite different than traditional tag. Damage is displayed visually in tame ways, such as popped balloons or characters slowing down.

Even if the content sounds appropriate, remember that Gorilla Tag is a VR game. Most VR headset manufacturers recommend that headsets be used only when kids are 13 or older. Meta has options for parent-managed and supervised accounts, and Gorilla Tag uses those features in-game by restricting users’ ages. Gorilla Tag uses k-ID age verification to determine a player’s age and, where appropriate, require parental consent before granting access to communication features, social interactions, and certain in-game purchase options. Younger players may require parent or guardian involvement during verification. These measures all help to make sure your kids’ information stays private and ensure that you (as the parent and decision-maker) are involved in and aware of your kids’ video game experiences.

It’s a good idea to check the user manual for any VR headset you own to also see if there are any recommended age restrictions. Of course, the final decision is always up to you!

Where Can I Play Gorilla Tag and How Much Does it Cost?

Gorilla Tag is a free-to-play VR game available on PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro. It can also be purchased through Steam for $19.99 to play on PC VR. Five “monkes” sit by a campfire in a game of Gorilla Tag.

On most platforms Gorilla Tag doesn’t cost anything to download and play, but it does include offers for users to purchase in-game cosmetics. These include things like hats, sunglasses or makeup, clothing, gloves, held items, and more.

Cosmetics are exchanged for the in-game currency, called Shiny Rocks. Players have the option to purchase Shiny Rocks from an in-game ATM. Players can purchase Shiny Rocks through various bundles, typically priced between $5 and $40, with available options subject to change.

As with most free-to-play games, in-game purchases are entirely optional. Even if you and your family do not want to spend money on Shiny Rocks, players earn 100 Shiny Rocks when they log in each day. It’s always a good idea to discuss your household rules around in-game purchases with your kids, and back them up with parental controls (more on that later!).

How Does Gorilla Tag Play?

Gorilla Tag includes several game modes with the core mechanic being to avoid a tagger. From a first-person perspective, players move by pumping their arms (like a running gorilla!) to run, climb, and jump through the environment.

Infection

Gorilla Tag’s default game mode drops at least 4 players (and up to 10 players) into a level with one monke being chosen at random as infected. The infected monke, also known as the “lava monke,” must chase the other players in an effort to tag them. However, unlike real tag, instead of being “out,” the tagged monkes are also infected and will join the original lava monke in hunting down the uninfected players. The game ends when everyone gets tagged, at which point a new game starts with a new lava monke. In addition to Infection as the core mode, Gorilla Tag offers newer modes and experiences, including Ranked Mode, community-created maps through Share My Blocks, and updated hub areas like Hoverpark.

Hunt

A four-player mode that gives each player a “target” to hunt. Once the game begins, each player is given a hunt watch that displays information about their unique target (one of the other players). This includes things like the color of the monke, the player’s username, cosmetic information, and more. Players will then try to tag their target – which is kept secret from other players – while simultaneously trying to avoid the player hunting them. When tagged, players become an “ice monke” who can tag other players, slowing down their run speed and making it easier for their pursuer to catch them. The game ends when there are only two hunters left.

As with most free-to-play games, in-game purchases are entirely optional.

Paintbrawl

Monkes start this game on a team of either orange or blue. Each monke is given a slingshot with paintballs to fling at the monkes on the other team. Each monke can be hit three times before getting out – this is visually represented by three balloons floating on each monke’s back. When a monke loses all of their balloons they are no longer able to pop their opponent’s balloons, but they can continue to use their slingshots to fatigue and slow down their adversaries. The game ends when all the monkes on a team lose their balloons.

Casual

This is a non-competitive game mode to chat with friends outside of the regular gameplay. There are no core objectives, and players can simply communicate via voice chat (if you permit that) with friends and others.

The Share My Blocks feature enables players to access custom, community-created maps, indicating that some in-game content is user-generated. Additionally, Gorilla Tag regularly introduces seasonal maps and events, such as winter, holiday, or themed updates, which change environments and activities throughout the year.

Managing Your Monkes Like a Pro

VR can be a new and exciting place for kids to play, especially when it has the added benefit of being a very physically active and social game like Gorilla Tag. In 2025, Gorilla Tag even added an in-game friending system, allowing players to add friends directly within the game without relying on external platforms. This is part of why it’s so important to stay looped into your kids’ video game interests, and to work with them to make sure they’re monke-ing around in an appropriate environment.

Checking the ESRB-assigned rating information is always a great first step. But there’s no better way to understand a game than trying it out for yourself. But there’s no better way to understand a game than trying it out for yourself. Of course, doing a little bit of research – especially watching videos and streams – can give you a great idea of what a game is all about.

Setting household rules is also a great way to keep an ongoing, judgement-free conversation around video games active in your home. You can find some tips about starting that talk by visiting our Family Gaming Guide.

Setting parental controls, which can apply at the account level and affect communication features and purchasing access based on a player’s age and verification status, is a great way to support your household rules. On Meta Quest, parents can enable dedicated child accounts for kids ages 10 to 12 and supervision settings for teens age 13 and up. These tools activate automatic restrictions in Gorilla Tag for features like voice chat, social interaction, and spending.

This is also true for PlayStation VR2, which requires a PlayStation 5 to play. These settings allow you to manage what your kids play, when and for how long, with whom, and whether they can spend real world currency on in-game purchases (or other new games). You can find step-by-step parental controls guides at ParentalTools.org.

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