YouTube has announced a controversial update to its gaming policy that could impact games like Grand Theft Auto 6. According to the new policies, players who injure NPCs in Rockstar Games’ GTA 6 could get demonetized.
YouTube Policy Update Bans Violence Against Realistic NPCs
YouTube recently updated its gaming policy to put tighter restrictions on gambling and casino content. However, a new change to how the Google-owned platform will handle violence in video games has raised eyebrows. In particular, the new policy’s stance on how users interact with NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) drew criticism from many players, who argue that it’s too broad.
According to YouTube, acts of violence against video game NPCs could be grounds to have the video age-restricted. “We will age-restrict an additional small subset of video game content featuring realistic human characters that focuses on scenes of torture or scenes of mass violence against non-combatants. We’ll consider several factors when reviewing this type of content.”
The part many players are focusing on is the “non-combatants” line. Now, it should be noted that YouTube has stated it’s for “realistic human characters” specifically. But what that means is kind of vague. I mean, after all, have you seen most modern AAA games‘ graphics? While it appears games like Roblox are safe, the new policy update has many players and content creators concerned about how it will impact the launch of GTA 6 in 2026.
GTA 6 Gameplay Could Be Automatically Demonetized
With YouTube stating that violence against “realistic human NPCs” is now age-restricted, GTA 6 could, in theory, face issues with the new policy. From trailers and screenshots released by Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto 6 is already shaping up to have some of the most realistic graphics of all time. I mean, seriously, they have even programmed individual arm hairs on the game’s protagonist, Jason Duval.
The bigger issue, though, is that the Grand Theft Auto series has infamously had gameplay where users can attack NPCs. In fact, it’s almost tradition for players to test the boundaries of the series’ wanted system and to create as much chaos as possible before getting arrested. However, based on YouTube’s new policy, this kind of gameplay in GTA 6 would not be allowed. But this also calls into question how Grand Theft Auto Online would even work.
With GTA RP (roleplay) servers, most characters would be classified as “non-combatants.” So would a streamer have their video demonetized or age-restricted for attacking another player out of combat? Google has since clarified that elements such as the “duration” of the violence and whether “it’s zoomed in” will also be a deciding factor.
YouTube also claims it will take into consideration gaming channels that make “compilation” videos for exemption. Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how Google actually enforces the new policy. But given that GTA 6 is likely to be one of the biggest games to ever launch, I can’t imagine this policy would be that popular should it interfere with content creators making videos on it.
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