Windows 8 Won’t Allow Over-16 Games In The Windows Store

Kotaku confirmed with a Microsoft employee its Windows Store for Windows 8 won’t allow over-16 software, including video games.

Why is Microsoft crating a barrier for mature content, video games included, in Windows 8?

It’s important to stress for U.S. customer this won’t be a great issue because most releases in the region don’t go beyond 16. The bigger issue is in Europe, where titles from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to Call of Duty: Modern Wafare 3 would be rejected from Windows Store.

Picture – Only Family-Friendly Games Will Find Their Way Into The Store

Section 6.2 of Windows App guidelines says apps with a rating over PEGI 16, called ESRB Mature, or similar, are not allowed. Apps includes video games, seemingly the medium to be exempt from the barrier.

Recent releases like the much praised The Waklking Dead episodic series would also not release. Episode 4, Around Every Corner, released this week, the penultimate episode in the first series. Developers Telltale Games is speaking about a second series. It revealed almost 1.7 million copies of the game had been sold mid-2012, eight weeks into the game’s life, and after the second episode.

Will Microsoft Change Its Policy After Windows 8 Launches?

The move means mature content needs to be removed from games looking to go into Windows Store. Though since half of Windows 8 is the desktop mode, games will probably continue to be installed as on current versions of Windows. Though it may be arguable not releasing games on Windows Store defeats the point.

It’ll be interesting to see how this policy develops post-Windows 8 release October 26. Windows 8 Critics are making their voices known, though Microsoft is educating consumers about Modern UI with its leaked advertisements. Hardcore users complaining about software only for casual users to adopt the release isn’t abnormal. The release of iPhone 5 was negatively described as iterative by sections of the technology community. Inside a week of release the device quickly sold five million units.