Epic Games Store to introduce age checks for R18+ games in Australia

Epic Games will require Australian players to confirm they're 18 or older before downloading or buying R18+ rated titles on the Epic Games Store, starting September 9.

According to a report by PocketGamer.biz, the company said the move brings it in line with Australia's online safety code covering access to adult content. Games players already own, and anything rated below R18+, won't be affected.

The checks will run through Epic's existing Kids Web Services (KWS) system, which is adding several further third-party verification options, giving players the choice to verify by a selfie (Yoti), credit card (Stripe), or government-issued ID check (Veriff).

A fourth option tied to bank verification through ConnectID is due to follow later in September.

Epic said data collected through any of these methods will only be used to verify a player's age and will be gathered independently of KWS.

Last month, Xbox similarly began rolling out age verification for users in Australia. Users must verify their age to play R18+ games on the Microsoft and Xbox Store for console and PC, in line with Australian regulations.

Microsoft began implementing age verification in the UK in July 2025, shortly after the OSA was introduced. Valve also introduced age verification for Steam users in the UK to enable access to mature content on the platform.