Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (Self-Monitoring of Entertainment Software, abbreviated USK) is the organization responsible for computer game ratings

Video game content rating system

A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of video games into suitability-related groups. Most of these systems are associated with and/or sponsored by a government, and are sometimes part of the local motion picture rating system...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Ratings

	Freigegeben ohne Altersbeschränkung gemäß § 14 JuSchG (Without age restrictions) There are no restrictions on the basis of the Jugendschutzgesetz on the sale of this game. The suitability for children, however, only relates to violent or sexual content - the difficulty or complexity of the game may still be unsuited to younger children.
	Freigegeben ab 6 Jahren gemäß § 14 JuSchG (Restricted for those below the age of 6) Games with this rating may be of an abstract or comical nature, may have a darker theme or may be too involving for children under the age of 6.
	Freigegeben ab 12 Jahren gemäß § 14 JuSchG (Restricted for those below the age of 12) Games with this rating may place a focus on wars or fighting of some description, or contain mild lyrics and suggestive themes. The fighting should be in a historical History History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...  or science fiction Science fiction Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...  context and the violence Violence Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...  should be kept to a minimum.
	Freigegeben ab 16 Jahren gemäß § 14 JuSchG (Restricted for those below the age of 16) Games featuring frequent one-on-one gunfights and moderate violence (no visible blood) will receive this rating. The game may cover adult themes.
	Freigegeben ab 18 Jahren gemäß § 14 JuSchG or Keine Jugendfreigabe gemäß § 14 JuSchG (Restricted for those below the age of 18) These games may contain scenes of brutal, moderately bloody violence Graphic violence Graphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television, and video games... .

In the German gaming community, the USK is very unpopular and often accused of censorship

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

, since games that are refused classification may be listed on the List of media harmful to young people (colloquially known as the “Index”) by the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien

Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien

The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons is an upper-level German federal agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is responsible for examining media works allegedly harmful to young people and entering these onto an...

 (BPjM). This process is known as “indexing”, upon which the titles may only be sold on request to adults over the age of 18, and are not to be advertised in retail stores or any other media. It is forbidden to supply them to minors. Hence, games with a USK 18 rating are not necessarily uncut, due to distributors striving for a rating. For example, the German version of Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...

 does not feature headshots and is less gory, as well as having some weapons or their special effects removed. Some publishers like Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 choose not to cut their games (e.g. Gears of War

Gears of War

Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...

) for a rating and do not release these games in Germany at all.

Unrated games are treated like titles with a USK 18 rating (educational software excluded), as long as they are not indexed.

Up to April 1, 2003, any game with a USK rating could also be indexed.