GTA 6 Online Officially Unplayable For Millions Of Gamers

We are finally on the homestretch when it comes to the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. Expected to be the biggest game launch of all time and marking the first Grand Theft Auto entry since Grand Theft Auto V launched way back in 2013, it is no wonder that millions of players will be flocking to the brand-new setting of Leonida. However, with GTA VI only launching on both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, it will leave a large majority of gamers in the dark.

However, it seems as though there is another bump in the road as one country is set to introduce a law that could also see Grand Theft Auto VI become unplayable.

This report comes following the news that Australia is set to introduce a new requirement which will call for age verification for any online games which hold an R18+ classification. Set to go into effect this upcoming Monday, the law will require gamers to prove their age before accessing affected content and, if ignored by publishers, they could see fines of up to AU$ 50 million. The only good news here, is that this new requirement only affects online games with the R18+ rating, so single-player and offline games are currently safe.

According to a report by SMH, the law will also affect pornography and "explicit" AI chatbots and all comes as a result of the new Age-Restricted Material Codes, which Australia's eSafety Commissioner believes cover "most corners of the online ecosystem".

So, with this new law expected to affect the upcoming launch of Grand Theft Auto Online, which we believe will arrive alongside Grand Theft Auto VI, it will see millions of players unable to access online gameplay, unless they are able to verify their age at least.

Earlier this year, Australia already introduced a social media ban for under 16s, needing them to supply credit card details or a copy of a valid government ID to use websites such as YouTube. To access Instagram and TikTok, they would need to bypass "facial age estimation technology", whilst government IDs would also do the trick.

It remains to be seen how this will be implemented for Xbox and PlayStation consoles following the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online, but what we do know, as somebody who also played Grand Theft Auto V whilst being under eighteen, is that it will see a lot of the younger generation stranded.

At the time of writing, Australia is the only region to announce its plans to require age verification for Grand Theft Auto VI. However, with countries such as the U.K. also implementing similar social media bans in recent months, it is hard to believe that these laws will not come into effect all over the world in time.

Released November 19, 2026

ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+

Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE)

Multiplayer Online Multiplayer