YouTube Is Changing Its Guidelines For “Graphic Violence” In Gaming

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YouTube is changing its rules to limit who can watch videos with violent gaming content. Starting November 17th, videos showing realistic human characters committing mass violence against innocent people or depicting torture will be age-restricted, meaning only viewers 18 and older will be able to watch them. These restrictions will also apply to videos featuring online gambling, even if it’s just for fun and doesn’t involve real money.

We regularly update our policies to reflect changes in the digital world. These updates help us address new trends, such as betting with virtual items, and ensure our rules for mature content are in line with what other companies are doing.

YouTube is updating its policies to provide clearer guidelines for three types of content: online gambling, social casino games, and violent games. The changes will also cover digital items with real-world value – like in-game skins or NFTs – if they’re connected to gambling sites or apps not approved by Google. YouTube will be more strict about enforcing these rules.

To better protect children, YouTube is now requiring age restrictions on content that shows or promotes social casino games, even if no actual money is involved. This builds on a previous change from March, where YouTube prohibited creators from mentioning or showing online gambling services that hadn’t been approved by Google.

As a fan, I’m a little worried about some potential changes. It sounds like videos with really graphic violence – things like torture or harming innocent people – might get restricted if those scenes are drawn out, shown up close, or are a major focus. The problem is, they didn’t give any examples, so I’m not sure if this means over-the-top stuff like in Mortal Kombat will be affected, or if it’s aimed at more realistic violence you see in games like Call of Duty.

So, basically, as a gamer, I understand this means they usually don’t take down violent stuff if it’s clearly not real. If it’s tagged as fiction, or if it looks like it’s not real – like in a cartoon or, you know, a video game – they generally leave it up. It’s pretty straightforward; they’re not going after stuff that’s obviously fake violence.

YouTube expects most creators won’t experience major changes with the new policy, but recommends getting familiar with it now. Videos that break the rules might be removed or made age-restricted, but YouTube won’t immediately issue strikes, giving creators a chance to make simple edits using their built-in tools. Creators will be notified by email if any videos are affected and can appeal any decisions made by YouTube.

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2025-10-29 20:09