A well-known leaker has revealed that Rockstar is adding age verification checks to GTA Online, which will prevent underage players from accessing certain features.
Age verification has been a hot topic recently, after the UK made it compulsory when trying to view adult content. It’s also had an effect on the gaming industry, with Xbox asking players to prove their age to continue using social features, and Death Stranding fans using the game’s stunning graphics to bypass checks.
Now, it appears that Grand Theft Auto is set to introduce stricter checks in GTA Online, just months before GTA 6 is due to hit shelves.
Age verification reportedly coming to GTA
Responding to a joke about age verifcation not being able to stop you from visiting the Vanilla Unicorn, a strip club in GTA Online, trusted GTA leaker Tez2 revealed that this is something that Rockstar is working on.
“Jokes aside, Rockstar is planning to implement age assurance checks in the near future, rolling them out by region,” he wrote. “You may need to verify your age to access GTAOnline, or certain features, like phone messages, text chat, Snapmatic, may be restricted until you verify your age.”
He also shared a screenshot of in-game files, showing a number of messages where features were blocked if players didn’t prove their age.
The leaker followed up by saying that the change isn’t limited to the UK either, as they “have the ability to target specific regions.” He went on to admit that he has “no idea” which regions will be targeted, but that the “UK will definitely be the first.”
It’s not clear when this will be rolled out, and it remains to be seen exactly how much of an impact this addition will have. The GTA series is well known for its adult content, so gating off certain features if you can’t verify your age would drastically alter the experience.
While you need to be 17 in the US, or 18 in the UK, to buy GTA 5 in the first place, it’s no secret that many underage players still manage to get their hands on a copy. Plus, GTA Online is now a standalone game that can be downloaded for free, making it much easier to get hold of.
The addition of age verification will no doubt help keep underage players from accessing mature content, but we’ll have to wait and see just how strict the feature is, and how it affects GTA 6 when it arrives in 2026.
It’s worth noting that Rockstar are yet to make an official announcement, so take this with a pinch of salt until we hear more.
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