Grand Theft Auto V Finally Granted Release In Saudi Arabia With 21+ Rating
Grand Theft Auto V has finally secured a release in Saudi Arabia 12 years after its initial launch, thanks to the introduction of a new 21+ age rating in the region.
Rockstar Games’ multi-million selling crime romp arrived in Saudi Arabia and the UAE yesterday with an age rating of 21+, and is accompanied by Grand Theft Auto Online. This marks the first time that the long-running franchise has been granted an official release in these territories.
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Niko Partners, a market research company, had the following to say:
Historically, video game approvals in the region have been constrained by conservative regulations leading to a high number of bans for games that featured strong violence, sexual content, substance use, or themes conflicting with local religious or cultural norms.
The first signs of change came in 2016, when Saudi Arabia introduced localized age ratings that replaced their reliance on the PEGI system. This allowed titles such as God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2, which would typically have been banned under the prior system, to gain delayed approvals after tweaks were made to content and localization. However, titles like Final Fantasy XVI remained banned under this system after failing to meet local requirements.
Grand Theft Auto V was originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 back in September 2013, with GTA Online following a month later. PS4 and Xbox One ports followed in 2014, and the game was even ported to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S a few years ago, making it accessible on three generations of console hardware.
Rockstar Games is currently working on the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, which was originally due out in Fall 2025 but has now been pushed to May 26, 2026.
Konvoy’s Josh Chapman said earlier this week that Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to rake in a whopping $7.6 billion in its first two months on sale. Last month, it was reported that the story for the upcoming sequel was rejected three times before a final version was approved, leading to the departure of Dan Houser.
[Source – Niko Partners via VGC]
