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The EU KIDS Act could bring age-assurance tools and safer-by-default requirements to online games, but it does not set a universal minimum age for playing games. The European Commission proposed the Act on 17 September 2026; it is not law, and Parliament and the Council still have to negotiate its final text. The proposal’s ages 13 and 15 concern social-media access and accounts, not video games generally.
What the proposal could mean for video games
The European Commission’s proposal expressly includes online games among the online services used by minors that it seeks to address. It pairs age-assurance tools with safer-by-design measures, so its potential effect on games is broader than simply asking players to prove their age.
The Commission’s public summary says online services and app stores would use age-verification tools, while services would adopt defaults intended to make them safer for young users. Examples include limiting features that encourage excessive use, preventing unsolicited contact from strangers, defaulting minors’ profiles to private, and making blocking and muting straightforward. How those measures would apply to a particular game’s profiles, chat, matchmaking, or other features is not specified in the summary; those are possible areas of impact, not confirmed game-specific rules. European Commission: Protecting children online
Does the Act set a minimum age for playing games?
No universal minimum age for video games is established in the Commission’s summary. The proposed thresholds of 13 and 15 apply to social-media access and accounts: the proposal would bar social-media access below 13, allow parent-managed, feature-limited mini-accounts for ages 13–14, and allow independent social-media accounts from age 15. They should not be presented as minimum ages for playing games or creating every kind of game account.
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The Commission has said the proposal prohibits social-media platforms from accessing children under 13 and sets an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for minors to open an account of their own. That statement is specifically about social media, not video games. European Commission press release, 17 September 2026
Would game players have to upload identity documents?
The Commission describes age-verification tools as part of the proposal, but its public summary does not say that every game must collect identity documents, nor does it prescribe one verification method for all operators. An age check can, in principle, establish whether someone meets a threshold without giving a service a full identity document; the Commission presents its own solution as an example of that approach.
The Commission says its age-verification solution lets a user prove they are over 18 without sharing other personal information, can be adapted to prove other age ranges, and is designed to interoperate with future European Digital Identity Wallets. The Commission describes the solution as feature-ready since 15 April 2026 and says Member States and market participants can customize it. These are characteristics of the Commission’s solution, not proof that every game operator must use it or that the eventual Act will require this specific tool. European Commission: EU age verification solution
Age proof is not the same as identity disclosure
A system that returns only an age attribute or confirms a threshold could disclose less to a game service than an identity-document check. The Commission says privacy-preserving features of its solution cannot be changed when it is customized. That is a stated design goal for this solution—not a guarantee that every age-check provider or deployment is anonymous, secure, or risk-free.
What is already required under EU rules?
The proposed KIDS Act would sit alongside existing EU protections rather than replace them. The Commission says the Digital Services Act (DSA) already requires platforms accessible to minors to maintain a high level of privacy, safety, and security, and prohibits targeted advertising to minors on online platforms. Those are existing DSA obligations; they should not be described as new KIDS Act requirements. European Commission: Digital Services Act
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains undecided
The Commission announced the proposal on 17 September 2026. Parliament and the Council must negotiate the text and decide its final form before it becomes law. Until then, the practical duties for different types of game service, the methods that might be accepted, and the implementation details are unsettled. Use conditional language—what the Act would require if adopted—rather than treating the proposal as a current binding rule.
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The Commission frames the wider effort as a shift toward platform responsibility: “Our KIDS Act is reversing the burden of proof – it is for platforms to show they are safe by design.” That is the Commission President’s description of the proposal, not a final legal standard for game operators. European Commission press release, 17 September 2026
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