GamesCapitalBerlin: In an interview with Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK)

The German Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (in German: Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, short USK) is a long-standing institution and helps regulating the German games landscape by implementing and overseeing youth protection measures and age ratings for games. As such, the USK holds great responsibility, especially in times of online games which cause a lot of challenges for youth protection. USK’s Managing Director Elisabeth Secker talked to us about her organisation, their tasks, modern challenges for youth protection in Germany and how the USK even has an impact across borders.

Gamescapital Berlin:The USK turned 30 this year. Congratulations! Why was it founded in the first place?

Thank you! The Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) stands for “Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body”. As a self-regulatory organisation of the games industry, we are the central institution in Germany for assigning age ratings for games and promoting youth protection within the gaming sector.

Having started out in 1994 as a voluntary self-regulation measure by the German game industry with the aim of greater legal certainty and image promotion, USK age ratings became part of a co-regulated, state-approved procedure in 2003 due to the effects of the debates on violence in video games after the Erfurt school massacre of 2002.

Today, the USK is established as one of the central institutions in the area of child and youth protection for digital games. Since its establishment, more than 56,000 age rating procedures have been conducted under the German Youth Protection Act. In addition, the USK issues around 2 million labels per year on digital games platforms as part of the global IARC system. Over 50 member companies have joined the USK to cooperate permanently in the area of youth protection and to continuously develop it further.

How did the testing of games change over the years? And how did the games change? Have you witnessed a change in topics, mechanisms or game design that have influenced age approval?

Today, hardly any games are ‘offline’ and with the constant shift to digital distribution channels, the ways in which games can be used have also developed steadily. In addition to the subject of content, which has long dominated debates on the protection of minors, the issue today is increasingly centred on the risks associated with usage. These include, for example, risks in the area of communication through chat functions, but also the effects of new monetization strategies such as in-app purchases, loot boxes and battle passes. Legislators have responded to this with the amended Youth Protection Act and equipped the USK with new competences. Since 2023, the independent USK committees with state involvement have also been assessing risks of usage in games. The rating now also includes whether technical protection measures are in place. Parents can now also find additional information alongside the age rating to give them more guidance before buying a game.

Please share your expertise with us. How does youth protection in general and youth media protection in particular work in Germany?

Germany has some of the strictest legal youth protection regulations in the world, and this also applies to digital games. However, Germany is also a pioneer, and many youth protection standards are adopted internationally. Unlike in other European countries, age ratings for digital games are enshrined in law. State representatives are also involved in the process, which is why the German system is considered particularly binding. All games that are to be sold to minors or shown in public must be submitted to the USK for review. In contrast to PEGI labels, which are used in other European countries and are purely recommendatory in nature, the USK’s age ratings are binding. There is now also an obligation for labelling on online games platforms based on the IARC system, which the USK developed together with other rating institutions. This is because providers in the online sector must also ensure that children and young people are not generally exposed to harmful content. To this end, they can have their youth protection systems certified by the USK. For example, the parental control settings of the Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles are recognized by the USK.