According to a report by Gamesindustry.biz, Microsoft will be banning all games that have an ESRB rating of MATURE or higher or a PEGI rating above 16+ from the upcoming Windows 8 Marketplace. More details are included after the jump.
The new guidelines, which Microsoft has confirmed to Kotaku, specifically ban titles that have received an ESRB or PEGI rating that would make it unsuitable for minors. In addition to this, the guidelines state that submitted applications may not contain any content or functionality that would encourage, facilitate, or glamorize illegal activity, use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or weapons or that contains excessive or gratuitious profanity.
Applications that meet one of these criteria will not be made available in the Windows 8 Marketplace and the associated service that is somewhat similar to the current “Games for Windows LIVE” model, but will still be allowed to be sold through other means for the platform. According to Kotaku, it does mean that titles excluded from the Windows 8 Marketplace will not be able to utilize some of the features being offered in Windows 8, but specifics for this were not listed.
No major publishers have weighed in on the matter yet. Windows 8 itself is scheduled for worldwide release on October 26th.