Every game, checked from a parent's side of the sofa
12 of the games UK children play most, each with its real age rating, how money and chat work, and the exact settings to change.
Fortnite
Fortnite is less one game than a free app full of them: a 100-player shoot-out, a LEGO building world, a music game and thousands of islands made by players. Here is how each part is rated, how the money works and which settings matter.
Roblox
Roblox isn't one game but a huge collection of games made by its users, from gentle obstacle courses to scary escapes. In 2026 it changed a lot: age checks for chat and new accounts built around a child's age.
Minecraft
Minecraft is a building game with no set goal and no finish line, which is both its magic and why it's hard to stop. It's PEGI 7, can be played fully offline, and its riskier parts are all behind settings you control.
Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is an adults-only crime game with a large online mode, GTA Online, built in. If it has come up at school, here's what PEGI says about it and how to keep it off your child's console.
EA SPORTS FC 27
EA Sports FC 27 is the same football game many families have bought every autumn for years, but this edition carries a PEGI 16 rather than a PEGI 3. Nothing about the football has changed; the reason is the paid random player packs in Ultimate Team.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the newest instalment of a war series that many under-18s talk about at school. It's rated PEGI 18, and this guide explains why, what online play involves, and how to handle the conversation without a standoff.
Among Us
Among Us is a short, chatty bluffing game set on a spaceship, where most players work together and a hidden few try to trick them. It's cheap or free, mild in content, and the main thing to get right is the chat setting.
Rocket League
Rocket League is football played with rocket-powered cars: no violence, quick matches and a lot of skill. It's free to download, so the things to set up are spending through Credits and who your child can chat with on their Epic account.
Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World is the Switch 2's big family racer: bright, silly and rated PEGI 3. The things to think about are online races with strangers and the console's GameChat, both of which you control from your phone.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a calm island-life game where children fish, garden, decorate and chat with animal neighbours. It's rated PEGI 3, has no cash shop, and its main habit to watch is a clock that keeps ticking in real time.
Fall Guys
Fall Guys is a free-to-play obstacle-course game show where jelly-bean characters wobble, tumble and race to be the last one standing. It's rated PEGI 3, but it has a cosmetic shop, a season pass and player-made levels, so the Epic account settings matter.
Brawl Stars
Brawl Stars is a free mobile game of short, cartoon team battles. In the UK it now shows PEGI 16 on Google Play, flagged for random items, and 13+ on Apple's App Store, so it's worth understanding the shop and Club chat before your child downloads it.