It looks like PEGI 18 games are being allowed in the Windows Store now and one of the first will be Grand Theft Auto IV by developer Take Two.
This little tidbit of news appeared in a blog post on the Windows Store for Developers blog at the Microsoft Developer Network or MSDN. The story was posted under the name of Antoine Leblond, Vice President of Windows Web Services but the name at the end of the blog entry is Ted Dworkin who is Director of Program Management for Windows Store.
Ted says in the post:
Windows has long been a favorite platform for games of all types, and age rating support for PEGI 18 is another step forward in a rich tradition of supporting gaming on Windows. We’ve described this support in Certification Requirement 5: Windows apps are appropriate for a global audience, and its subsections. There, we have additional content definitions and describe how the various game ratings organizations relate to the Windows Store age rating.
In welcoming PEGI 18 games into the Store, we again reinforce two principles—flexibility and confidence—fundamental to the Windows Store. We recognize that people have come to expect and appreciate rich gaming experiences on Windows and this includes games rated PEGI 18. We also want to ensure that every customer using the Store can browse and acquire apps with confidence.
Through its integration with Microsoft Family Safety, the Windows Store allows parents to be in control of the kinds of apps their children can install. For this reason, even with the introduction of content intended for a more mature audience, the Store continues to be a safe and positive place for children to explore.
In the next paragraph he confirms that two of the game developers they are partnering with are CD Projekt with the game The Witcher and Take Two the developer of the very popular Grand Theft Auto series of games. No timeframe is indicated in the post as to when we can expect these games to be available on Windows 8 in the Windows Store.
Just in case you are wondering what PEGI 18 is, according to the Pan European Game Information site, it is described as:
The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence and/or includes elements of specific types of violence. Gross violence is the most difficult to define since it can be very subjective in many cases, but in general terms it can be classed as the depictions of violence that would make the viewer feel a sense of revulsion.
Source: Windows Store for Developers – Expanding our commitment to Windows Store games
