Trust and Safety
The video game industry recognizes the challenges Canadian parents and caregivers face raising children in the current digital era, and has been working for more than 25 years to provide consumers—especially parents and caregivers—the most comprehensive information and resources they need to decide which gameplay experiences are appropriate for their children, particularly when parents are not in the room.
ESRB Ratings and Other Tools
The ESRB rating system has three parts:
1) Rating Categories suggest age appropriateness (such as “T” for youth ages 13 and up).
3) Interactive Elements highlight a game’s interactive or online features (such as users’ ability to communicate with other users or to make in-game purchases).
The ESRB’s mobile app allows parents to look up rating information when considering a game for purchase. The ESRB also offers a Family Gaming Guide to help parents establish household rules for the whole family. For more information about ESRB’s tools and resources (including their work to ensure responsible advertising), visit www.esrb.org.
Click here to read a Q&A with ESRB President Patricia Vance about ESRB and tools available to parents.

Parental Controls
Virtually all video game devices, such as consoles, smartphones, tablets and PCs, provide controls to manage gameplay. These controls allow parents and caregivers to: