Grand Theft Auto VI Gets CERO Z Rating in Japan, Matching GTA V

Grand Theft Auto VI has been rated CERO Z in Japan, matching the 18-plus-only designation Grand Theft Auto V received when it shipped, with content icons reading “Crime” (“犯罪”) and “Violence” (“暴力”). The Japan PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store product pages now display the rating after more than a month of sitting at “Pending Review” (“審査予定”) through the October 15 launch trailer.

The change was first flagged overnight by Denfaminicogamer and GameSpark, both of whom checked the Japanese storefronts. GameSpark noted that the rating moved from “pending” to Z the same week the game entered the final pre-launch window, and that GTA V’s domestic release carried identical content icons. CERO Z is the Japanese rating body’s highest tier, restricted to buyers 18 and over, and is used for games with persistent violence, criminal themes or adult subject matter.

The rating lines up with what Western stores already show. The North American ESRB lists GTA 6 as Mature 17 and flags “Blood and Gore,” “Intense Violence,” “Strong Language” and “In-Game Purchases,” while Europe’s PEGI board set it at 18. Australia’s and New Zealand’s listings add “Sex Scenes” to the descriptors, a phrase neither CERO nor ESRB has used. Rockstar has not announced any edits specific to the Japanese build. In the GTA V release, Japan received modified sexual scenes and cuts to certain violent content; whether the same will hold for GTA 6 is the open question now that the rating has settled.

Japan pre-orders are live. The Standard Edition is listed at ¥9,800 and the Ultimate Edition at ¥12,280, both tax-included, ahead of the global November 19, 2026 release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The story follows protagonist pair Jason and Lucia across the state of Leonida, the in-universe Vice City.

Can you play it in English?

Yes. Grand Theft Auto VI is a single global build releasing simultaneously in Japan and everywhere else on November 19, 2026. Japanese players get the same English (and other languages) the Western versions ship with. No separate localization tier has been announced, and the Japanese and US discs are region-free on PS5. There is no Switch 2 version announced.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report