In May, Google Play will introduce a new content rating system for apps and games that will help consumers with their purchases. The main goal of this new rating system is to improve app engagement by better targeting the appropriate audience. This will be done by evaluating content and respecting each country's internet advertising policies. Since the current Google Play rating scale will be replaced by this new system in May, this rating is mandatory for all developers. Google says that the “Unrated” apps may be blocked in certain territories for specific users. If your app is not rated, Google Play has the right to delete it from the Play Store, so be sure to rate it now. The rating will be calculated based on rules defined by an international organization (IARC), based on informations given to google by the developers about the content of their app.
The International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), born from a global initiative, gives a classification for games and apps, depending on the minimum age requested to use them, according to the territory where they will be sold. The IARC is composed by different classification institutions, each one corresponding to a different area in the world : - the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) - North America - Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) - Europe - Australian Classification Board - Australia - Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) - Germany - Classificação Indicativa (ClassInd) - Brazil An app can get different ratings depending on the territory it will be downloaded from. This new way to rate apps will, as Google says, " inform consumers about the age appropriateness of your app, block or filter your content in certain territories or to specific users where legally required, evaluate your app’s eligibility for special developer programs."