STOP your children playing these video games right now

Like films and music, video games are released with specific age ratings that must be followed by parents.

There are many games that children of all ages can enjoy with the right supervision and a healthy level of time management.

But losing track of what has been downloaded on a console, PC or tablet can feel like a full-time job, and it’s good to have regular updates regarding what shouldn’t be played by children.

The most important place to start is with the video games with an age rating of 18+, which puts them beyond the reach of anyone who isn’t an adult.

This job has become a little harder now that a lot of people buy games from digital stores, making it easier to skip age barriers and ID protections.

The good news is that most devices have some kind of filter system or child protection lock that make it easier to stop things from falling through the cracks.

As an example, if you own a PS4 console, you can set up an adult account, followed by a child account, which comes with a lot more options.

To do this on your console, you must follow these steps:

On your PS4 system, go to Settings > Parental Controls/Family Management > Family Management. You may need to re-enter your account password. Select the child account you want to set restrictions for and select a feature to adjust.

Microsoft’s Xbox One is another popular console that includes the same kind of family settings to help manage what your child can do.

To set up a Child Account on your Xbox One, you need to follow these steps:

• Press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide. Select Profile & system, and sign in to your account.
• Press the Xbox button again to open the guide, and then select Profile & system > Settings > Account.
• Select Family settings > Manage family members. Select Add to family. Select Add new.
• When the child is prompted to enter an email address, enter their existing email. If they don’t have one, select Get a new email.

WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR 18+ VIDEO GAMES OUT NOW?

There’s a huge list of 18+ rated games available to download on your devices and all of them have been rated by PEGI -The Pan-European Game Information rating system.

And while there are currently thousands of video games rated for Adults only, the ones to keep track of and uninstall are usually the ones that are most popular.

So the games you should delete if found on your child’s console or gaming PC are:

• Necromunda: Hired Gun
• Greedfall – Gold Edition
• Days Gone
• Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut
• Doom Eternal and The Ancient Gods DLC
• Chivalry 2
• Resident Evil Village
• Hotline Miami Collection
• Red Dead Online
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Dead By Daylight
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• Demon’s Souls
• Mafia: Definitive Edition
• Outriders
• Detroit: Become Human
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Maneater
• Death Stranding

Other popular games have lower ratings, including Apex Legends and Valorant, which both have 16+ ratings across all platforms.

Meanwhile, other games like Fortnite: Battle Royale are rated at 12+, making it more suitable for a wider range of people to play.

And for those parents who want to know why a game falls into a category, you can read the deciding factors below:

PEGI 3: The content of games with a PEGI 3 rating is considered suitable for all age groups. The game should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children. A very mild form of violence (in a comical context or a childlike setting) is acceptable. No bad language should be heard.

PEGI 16: This rating is applied once the depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life. The use of bad language in games with a PEGI 16 rating can be more extreme, while the use of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can also be present.

PEGI 18: The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters. The glamorisation of the use of illegal drugs and of the simulation of gambling, and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category.