Rockstar insider shares 'proof' of new GTA 6 age verification

A Rockstar Games insider has shared what appears to be proof of the developer's plans to introduce age verification checks on Grand Theft Auto 6.

Rumours have been swirling about whether the hotly anticipated video game would be affected after the UK government implemented the Online Safety Act earlier this summer.

The act, which is designed to protect under 18s from inappropriate content, forces websites containing adult material to introduce mandatory age verification checks.

Tez2, who is known for being pretty much on the money when it comes to GTA leaks, previously said Rockstar is looking to roll out age checks by region.

"Jokes aside, Rockstar is planning to implement age assurance checks in the near future, rolling them out by region," he wrote on X.

"You may need to verify your age to access GTA Online, or certain features like phone messages, text chat, Snapmatic, may be restricted until you verify your age."

However, the insider has since taken to social media once again to share screenshots which appear to prove his theory.

Tez shared several screenshots; one of which appears to be the opening screen to GTA Online, with a warning in the bottom left corner asking players to 'please verify your age to access online features.'

In another screenshot, on the settings page, under the heading of 'additional settings,' there seems to be an option to 'verify age.'

In the third image, an error warning has popped up saying, 'an error happened while retrieving the OR code. Please retry.'

Sharing the screenshots, he wrote: "A preview of age assurance in-game. This is not active yet."

Currently, GTA 5 and GTA Online are both rated 18+ in the UK, but there's nothing to actually stop anyone under that age from actually playing the game.

However, the introduction of verification would mean over 18s would need to confirm their age to access the game's online functionality, while those under 18 would not be allowed to play the game online at all.

Rockstar is yet to comment on the subject of age assurances and did not respond to LADbible for comment.

If the age checks do go ahead, it could make a big dint in the number of players accessing the game from the UK, as a 2023 poll by YouGov found that 71 percent of Brits who have ever played GTA did so before they turned 18.

Meanwhile, as many as 20 percent confessing to playing one of the games while under the age of 11.