Popular live video streaming site Twitch has updated its rules of conduct to prohibit the streaming of games rated Adults Only (AO) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) on its website.
One of the games due to be impacted by the move will include controversial shooter Hatred, due to be released next week. But the move won’t affect too many titles - only 26 titles have been given an AO rating, according the ESRB database. With that in mind, most users will be able to stream games with no issues.
“Previously, we made game-specific decisions about which games would and would not be available for broadcast – sometimes due to overtly sexual content, sometimes due to gratuitous violence. This is unsustainable and unclear, generating only further confusion among Twitch broadcasters. We would like to make this policy as transparent as possible,” the company wrote in a post on the official blog.
Twitch later clarified that Mature-rated versions of AO games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are ok to stream. They also stated that games rated 18+ by other rating systems are ok to stream so long as they aren’t rated AO by the ESRB or violate the language of Twitch’s Rules of Conduct or Terms of Service.
