List of AO-rated video games

For further information about the AO rating, see Entertainment Software Rating Board § Adults Only rating.
The ESRB's "Adults Only" ratings symbol

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the content rating board for games released in North America, has issued an "Adults Only" (AO) rating for 24 released video games. AO is the highest rating in the ESRB system, and indicates the game's content is suitable only for players aged 18 years and over.

The majority of AO-rated games are adult video games, typically those with pornographic or strong sexual content. Four games have been given the rating solely due to extreme levels of violence: the canceled Thrill Kill (1998), the initial cuts of The Punisher (2005), Manhunt 2 (2007), and Hatred (2015). The only game to receive the rating for reasons other than pornographic content or extreme violence is Peak Entertainment Casinos (2003), which allows players to gamble using real money. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) was temporarily re-rated from M ("Mature") to AO after a sexually-explicit minigame was found hidden in the game, but the M rating was reinstated after Rockstar Games patched out the content.

Self-imposed restrictions by publishers and distributors limit the availability of AO-rated games, thus the rating has been described as a "kiss of death" by journalists, and is considered essentially a ban.[1][2][3] All three major video game console manufacturers (Nintendo,[1][4] Microsoft,[5] and Sony[6][7]) prohibit AO-rated games from being published on their platforms. Steam, the largest distributor of PC games, does permit these games on its platform but hides them by default.[8] Most retailers refuse to stock the games, and the popular video game live streaming service Twitch forbids streaming them.[9] In light of these regulatory challenges, most AO-games have been released for personal computers, and nearly all erotic game publishers forgo the rating process entirely and sell on unregulated marketplaces.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ign-bigao was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Retail murder: ESRB rates Manhunt 2 'Adults Only'". Joystiq. AOL. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Factor 5 CEO blasts the ESRB at GCDC, and he's right". Ars Technica. 20 August 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  4. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (20 June 2007). "Sony, Nintendo refuse to allow AO rated games on their consoles". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  5. ^ Kuchera, Ben (2007-07-17). "Peter Moore on AO-rated games: "You have to draw the line somewhere"". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. ^ "Rating and Parental Controls". PlayStation. Retrieved 2020-07-17. PlayStation does not publish Adults Only games.
  7. ^ "Vivid: Sony said no to PS3 porn streaming". CNET. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  8. ^ Hoffman, Chris (12 September 2018). "How to View Adult Only Games on Steam". How-To Geek. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  9. ^ "Twitch bans Adults Only-rated games from streaming". Polygon. 27 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved May 28, 2015.