Technology & Digital UK-wide

Software and video-game publishing rules

If you publish software or video games, the standout duty is age rating: video games that are not exempt must carry a statutory age rating before supply, and supplying an unrated game is a criminal offence. You also need to protect and license your software copyright, and — if your game has chat or user-generated content — consider your Online Safety Act duties.

Guide summary

Get a statutory age rating from PEGI before you supply a video game that is not exempt. Protect your software copyright and set clear licence terms. If your game has chat or user-generated content, check if the Online Safety Act applies to you.

  • Get a PEGI age rating from the Video Standards Council before selling a game
  • Supplying an unrated game that needs a rating is a criminal offence
  • Games with no unsuitable content are exempt from rating
  • Protect your software copyright automatically – record authorship and ownership
  • Set clear licence terms for how others can use your software
  • Respect third-party and open-source licences in your code
  • If your game has chat or user uploads, check if Online Safety Act applies
  • Assess and manage illegal content and child safety risks if the Act applies
On this page

Related guides in General Compliance

Software licensing compliance

Understand your legal obligations when using, developing, or distributing software - including open source licensing, commercial agreements, and …

Software and video-game publishers share the cross-cutting duties in run a compliant publishing business. Beyond those, the standout obligation is statutory age rating for video games. (Legal deposit, which applies to print and online publishing, does not apply to software products.)

Get a statutory age rating for video games

Under the Video Recordings Act 1984 (as amended by the Digital Economy Act 2010), video games that are not exempt must be classified before supply. The designated authority is the Video Standards Council / Games Rating Authority, which assigns PEGI age ratings. Supplying a game that requires classification without a valid age rating is a criminal offence. Games with no unsuitable content are exempt under the Video Recordings Act 1984 (Exempted Video Works) Regulations 2014.

Protect and license your software copyright

Software is protected as a literary work under copyright, automatically and without registration. You should record authorship and ownership (especially for contractors), set clear licence terms for how your software may be used, and respect third-party and open-source licences in what you ship. For the detail, see protecting your software intellectual property and software licensing compliance.

If your game has chat or user-generated content

A game that lets users interact — in-game chat, multiplayer, user uploads or sharing — may be a user-to-user service under the Online Safety Act 2023, with duties to assess and manage illegal-content and (where children can access it) child-safety risks. This is separate from age rating. See understanding the Online Safety Act to check whether the Act applies to you and what it requires; if it does, conduct an illegal content risk assessment is the next step.

Next steps

Make sure the cross-cutting duties for your business are in place — see run a compliant publishing business — then confirm everything with the publishing compliance checklist.