What The Entertainment Software Rating Board - ESRB does

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body founded in 1994 by the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association) and headquartered in New York. ESRB assigns age and content ratings to video games and apps submitted by publishers and developers, operating a three-part rating system comprising Rating Categories (E, E10+, T, M, AO age-appropriateness symbols), Content Descriptors (more than 30 indicators explaining what content triggered a rating), and Interactive Elements (notifying consumers about in-game purchases, user interactions, location sharing, and unrestricted internet access). The FTC has designated ESRB as having "the strongest self-regulatory code" among U.S. media rating systems, and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the system's effectiveness in Brown v. EMA/ESA (2011).

ESRB's core technology also includes the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), co-founded in 2013 to provide a globally streamlined age classification process for digital games and mobile apps that respects region-specific cultural norms. IARC is now deployed across Google Play, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Windows Store, Oculus Store, Amazon Luna, Epic Games Store, Facebook Gaming, and others, and operates with rating authorities from Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. Supplementary products include the ESRB Privacy Certified program (an FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor certification), the Advertising Review Council (which enforces industry marketing guidelines with fines up to $1 million), and the ESRB Retail Council and Website Council (which enforce retail and online compliance).

ESRB is funded by the video game industry through publisher-submitted rating fees (physical games only — digitally delivered games receive cost-free ratings), Privacy Certified certification and membership fees, and ancillary enforcement activities. Its customer base spans the entire U.S. video game publishing industry (including Riot Games, Sony, Epic Games, Square Enix, miHoYo, Konami, and others), major retailers (Walmart, Best Buy, Toys R Us), and platform partners via IARC. The organization is led by President Patricia E. Vance, who joined in 2002, and operates with 11–50 employees from its New York headquarters.

Name

The Entertainment Software Rating Board - ESRB

Legal name

Entertainment Software Rating Board

Website

https://esrb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ESRB is a non-profit, self-regulatory body founded in 1994 that assigns age and content ratings to U.S. video games and apps for parents, publishers, and retailers, and operates the global IARC digital rating system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Game Content Rating Services

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Accessibility & Compliance Services (A11y Testing, Ratings, Privacy/Regulatory) (MPAFAKAO)

Keywords

• Video game ratings
• Content rating system
• Age classification
• Privacy certification
• Advertising compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Video Game Rating Services: ESRB assigns age and content ratings to video games and apps submitted by publishers and developers. While digitally delivered games receive cost-free ratings, physical game submissions involve fees for the rating certification service.
2. ESRB Privacy Certified Program: A COPPA Safe Harbor certification program that helps companies in the video game and toy industries adopt and implement transparent and responsible privacy practices. Companies pay for certification and ongoing membership.
3. Advertising Review Council Enforcement: ESRB monitors compliance with industry-adopted advertising guidelines and can impose sanctions on publishers who violate marketing rules, including monetary fines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ESRB is a non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns age and content ratings to video games and apps via a three-part rating system comprising Rating Categories, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements. It also operates the ESRB Privacy Certified program (an FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor), enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines through the Advertising Review Council, and co-administers the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) for global digital game ratings.

Product overview

ESRB is a non-profit, self-regulatory body for the video game industry that provides a three-part rating system consisting of Rating Categories, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements. The core products include the ESRB Rating System (assigning age and content ratings), ESRB Rating Search (searchable database), and the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) for global digital ratings. Supporting offerings include the ESRB Privacy Certified Program (FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor), the Advertising Review Council (enforcing marketing guidelines), ESRB Mobile App, Family Gaming Guide, Parental Controls Guides, and ¡Vamos a Jugar! (Spanish resource hub). The ESRB Retail Council and Website Council provide additional industry enforcement and education mechanisms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advertising Review Council (ARC): Enforces industry-adopted advertising and marketing guidelines for video game publishers.
• ESRB Privacy Certified
• ESRB Website Council (EWC)
• ESRB Retail Council (ERC)
• International Age Rating Coalition (IARC)
• ¡Vamos a Jugar!
• Family Gaming Guide

Products and services

• ESRB Rating System A three-part rating certification service that assigns age-based Rating Categories, Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements to video games and apps submitted by publishers and developers, providing consumers and parents with content and age-appropriateness information.
• ESRB Privacy Certified Program An FTC-approved COPPA Safe Harbor privacy seal certification program that helps companies in the video game and toy industries adopt and implement transparent and responsible privacy practices, offering certification seals and ongoing monitoring for a fee.
• Advertising Review Council (ARC) ESRB enforcement division that monitors compliance with industry-adopted Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Advertising Practices for video game publishers, with the authority to impose sanctions including fines up to $1 million for violations.
• International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) A globally streamlined age classification process for digital games and mobile apps co-founded by ESRB, allowing developers to obtain ratings recognized across multiple regions through a single submission, deployed by Google Play, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Windows Store, Oculus Store, Amazon Luna, Epic Games Store, Facebook Gaming, and others.
• ESRB Retail Council (ERC) A retail partnership council launched by ESRB and major retailers to support ratings education and enforcement at retail, with members adopting the ERC Commitment to Parents pledge to display in-store signage and enforce policies on M-rated game sales to minors.
• ESRB Website Council (EWC)

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of kids under 17 are turned away when trying to buy M-rated games at retail
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, major and minor.

• International Age Rating Coalition (IARC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2013 by ESRB and other leading video game rating authorities, IARC administers the first globally streamlined age classification process for digital games and mobile apps. It respects unique cultural norms of each region and is deployed by major platforms including Google Play, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Windows Store, Oculus Store, Amazon Luna, Epic Games Store, Facebook Gaming, and others.
• Entertainment Software Association (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA (formerly Interactive Digital Software Association/IDSA) founded ESRB in 1994 and remains its parent organization. ESA represents the interests of the video game industry and supports ESRB's self-regulatory mission.
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFTC designated ESRB Privacy Online (now ESRB Privacy Certified) as a 'Safe Harbor' under COPPA in 2001. The FTC has consistently recognized ESRB as having 'the strongest self-regulatory code' among media rating systems and confirmed high retailer compliance rates.
• Parent Teacher Association (PTA)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNationwide partnership launched in 2006 distributing 1.3 million brochures to 26,000 PTAs to educate parents about ESRB ratings, parental controls, and online video game safety. Includes materials in English and Spanish.
• Good HousekeepingmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership providing ESRB rating information and guidance articles exclusively featured on GoodHousekeeping.com, reaching 25 million monthly readers. Includes regularly updated list of top 20 selling games with ratings.
• ESRB Retail Council (ERC)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLaunched in 2006 by ESRB and leading retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, and Toys R Us. Retailers adopted the 'ERC Commitment to Parents' pledge and display in-store signage about ratings and store policies restricting M-rated game sales to minors.
• Ingram EntertainmentmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to distribute ESRB signage and education materials to 10,000 independent and small chain retailers nationwide through Ingram's Entertainment Preview magazine, supporting Entertainment Ratings & Labeling Awareness Month.
• NoclipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative video production company that produced a documentary about ESRB's operations, rating processes, and the future of industry self-regulation, released on YouTube in 2019.
• CTIA - The Wireless AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2011, ESRB was commissioned by CTIA to develop and administer a rating system for mobile apps, expanding ESRB's role beyond video games into the mobile application space.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PEGI (Pan European Game Information): PEGI is the European video game age rating system covering EU member states and the UK, and is a co-founder of the IARC alongside ESRB. It serves the same publisher and parent customer segments with an analogous age-and-content rating framework, making it ESRB's most direct international counterpart.
• CERO (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization): CERO is the official video game rating body for Japan, assigning age ratings to console and PC games sold in the Japanese market. It is functionally analogous to ESRB and a co-founder of IARC, serving the same publisher customers with a culturally adapted rating system.
• USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle): USK is the self-regulatory video game rating body in Germany and an IARC co-founder. It assigns age ratings to games sold in the German market using a methodology parallel to ESRB's, serving the same publisher and parent constituencies with regional adaptation.
• Common Sense Media: Common Sense Media is a U.S. non-profit that provides age-based content reviews and ratings for children's media including games, films, TV, and apps. It directly competes with ESRB on the parental information layer, with broader media coverage but a less regulator-recognized rating framework.
• GRAC (Game Rating and Administration Committee): GRAC is South Korea's video game rating authority and a 2017 IARC participant. It assigns mandatory age ratings to all games distributed in Korea and serves the same publisher and parent customer base with a regionally adapted rating framework.
• Australian Classification Board (ACB): ACB is the Australian government body that classifies films, games, and other content, and joined IARC as a participant in 2015. It serves an analogous role to ESRB in the Australian market under a national classification scheme rather than self-regulation.

Broad incumbents

• Entertainment Software Association (ESA): ESA is the trade association that founded ESRB in 1994 and remains its parent organization. ESA represents the broader interests of the U.S. video game industry (lobbying, research, trade shows like E3) and is comparable to ESRB as a sibling industry-wide body rather than a direct competitor.
• CARA (Classification and Rating Administration, formerly MPAA): CARA administers the MPAA film rating system and shares ESRB's self-regulatory DNA, FTC endorsement, and parent-information mission. It is comparable as the analogous rating body for motion pictures, offering a parallel template for content classification that ESRB's founders explicitly referenced.

Emerging players

• iKeepSafe (iKeepSafe Privacy Trust): iKeepSafe is a non-profit providing COPPA and FERPA compliance certification for child-directed products, including games and apps. It is comparable to ESRB Privacy Certified as a competing Safe Harbor program targeting the same privacy certification buyer segment with overlapping but narrower scope.

Regional players

• ClassInd (Brazilian Advisory Rating System): ClassInd is the Brazilian age rating system for games, films, and other media and a participant in IARC. It serves the same publisher base in the Brazilian market with locally adapted content descriptors, comparable to ESRB as a regional IARC partner rather than a direct U.S. competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ESRBRatings
• Facebookfacebook.com/ESRBratings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/42299

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Entertainment Software Rating Board - ESRB