Age 13 · Video Games
Video Games for 13-year-olds
At thirteen, ESRB Teen is within its suggested age range. That expands the pool of reasonable choices, but it does not remove the need to evaluate online interaction, spending, privacy, or the difference between Teen and Mature content.
Mature 17+ games may now become a serious request. ESRB generally suggests Mature for ages 17 and up, so treat an M-rated request as a substantially different decision rather than a small step up from Teen.
What to evaluate at this age
What usually matters most at age 13
Teen vs. Mature
Teen may include violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, or infrequent strong language. Mature may include intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and strong language.
Online identity
Public profiles, voice chat, streaming, clans, servers, and direct messages can expose personal information or create pressure to move relationships off-platform.
Spending and ownership
Digital purchases may feel small one at a time. A budget, approval rule, and understanding that digital goods can disappear with an account are useful adult skills.
Independent judgment
The goal is increasingly to recognize unsafe people, manipulative design, unhealthy play patterns, and content that is not a good personal fit without waiting for an adult to notice first.
Use all three parts of the ESRB information
The age rating is the start of the decision, not the whole decision.
ESRB rating categories suggest age appropriateness: Everyone is generally suitable for all ages, Everyone 10+ for ages 10 and up, Teen for ages 13 and up, and Mature 17+ for ages 17 and up. Content descriptors explain what may have triggered the rating.
Interactive Elements flag features such as Users Interact, In-Game Purchases, purchases that include random items, location sharing, or unrestricted internet access. Those features may matter to your family even though they do not affect the ESRB age rating itself.
Online play changes the decision
Content, people, and money are three separate questions.
Keep communication open enough that the teen can tell you about harassment, sexual messages, threats, scams, cheating offers, or uncomfortable adult behavior without assuming the first response will be losing gaming entirely.
Use the controls before you need them
Gaming consoles and platforms commonly offer controls for play time, contacts, downloads, privacy, and purchases. Configure those settings before a problem occurs, then revisit them as the child demonstrates more judgment.
Healthy gaming is bigger than a timer
Protect the parts of the day that gaming should not replace.
The standard can become more outcome-based: sleep, school, responsibilities, physical activity, relationships, and mood remain healthy. When those deteriorate, the gaming pattern—not just the clock—needs another look.
Current AAP guidance emphasizes high-quality media, family priorities, and whether digital use is crowding out sleep, physical activity, learning, relationships, and other important experiences. Parental controls and a family media plan can make those expectations concrete.
Keep exploring age 13
Video games are one part of the age 13 picture.
See how gaming fits alongside books, movies, technology, life skills, chores, and growing independence at age 13.
Explore age 13 See the Video Games framework → Read our methodology →Keep exploring
See how this changes by age—and what connects to it.
Age is useful in context. Compare the same topic nearby, or stay at age 13 and explore a related decision.
Age 13 decision snapshot
What fits at age 13?
Across 10 current Video Games guides, this is the age-specific recommendation picture. The status comes from the age-13 row for each guide—not just the product’s overall starting age.
9
Good fit now
Generally appropriate at this age with normal family boundaries.
0
Works with guidance
Potentially appropriate when the listed settings, supervision, or readiness conditions are in place.
1
Better to wait
The age-specific guidance says the experience asks for more maturity or access than we recommend right now.
Specific games parents ask about
See how individual games fit at age 13
These game-specific guides apply the same content, interaction, spending, and readiness framework to individual titles.
Among Us
Generally suitable
Most 13-year-olds can handle the core game, but public lobbies still require normal online-safety judgment.
Game · At age 13Fortnite
Generally suitable
Age 13 aligns with the ESRB Teen category and Epic’s transition out of under-13 Cabined status in many regions, though maturity st…
Game · At age 13Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Generally suitable
The game is broadly appropriate and remains a strong family or competitive multiplayer option.
Game · At age 13Minecraft
Generally suitable
The core game is generally appropriate; remaining concerns center on online environments and spending.
Game · At age 13Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Generally suitable
The content and gameplay are broadly appropriate, including optional competitive and cooperative systems.
Game · At age 13Roblox
Generally suitable
Core use can be appropriate, but broader social access does not remove the need for judgment around strangers, UGC, and purchases.
Game · At age 13Rocket League
Generally suitable
The game is broadly appropriate, including competitive online modes for children with normal online judgment.
Game · At age 13Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Generally suitable
The game is broadly appropriate, including competitive and online modes for children with normal online judgment.
Game · At age 13The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Generally suitable
The game is broadly appropriate and its challenge becomes more of a gameplay preference than an age concern.
Game · At age 13Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Generally wait
Age 13 is still four years below the ESRB Mature 17+ category, and the game contains realistic gore, executions, strong language, dr…