GTA Online may add age verification ahead of GTA 6, Rockstar leaker claims

Of all the live-service games to make waves over the past decade and a half, it feels like GTA Online often flies under the radar. The likes of Fortnite, Call of Duty, and MMOs like Final Fantasy 14 are all constantly hitting the headlines while Grand Theft Auto's online mode quietly chugs away in the background. It's made the wait for GTA 6 more bearable, that's for sure. GTA Online has a dedicated playerbase who regularly log onto their servers to roleplay, fight, or perform Hamlet together. However, it appears that Rockstar is soon going to implement an age verification check to the hugely popular online game.

A prominent industry source claims that Rockstar is planning to add the check to Grand Theft Auto 5's online mode in the near future. These changes coincide with the rollout of age verification checks on many sites to comply with the UK's new Online Safety Act. This law aims to "protect children and adults online" by restricting access to mature or illegal online material, and while it isn't confirmed to be the reason, it's certainly quite the coincidence.

The source, known on X as 'Tez2', says that Rockstar has the ability to target specific regions, and that the UK "will definitely be the first." However, it's currently unclear how this will effect GTA Online, one of the best multiplayer games this century.

They also say that the verification process may impact accessing certain features in the game, such as phone messages, text chat, and Snapmatic. They can't be certain it won't restrict accessing the game completely without providing identification.

It's unclear exactly when this update will roll out, or whom it will effect, but Tez2 seems certain that, given the Online Safety Act has come into effect in the UK, British players will be the first to find out. The fact this

We hope that this change won't impact the GTA 5 RP servers too much, as they're all we have as we count down the days until the GTA 6 release date.

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