ESRB Rating Distribution in 335 Popular Games
An original descriptive study of the ESRB age-rating labels recorded in the GameRulePro game dataset. Results preserve missing values and do not infer ratings from genres, descriptions or other metadata.
Key findings
- Mature is the most frequent recorded label: 189 games, or 56.4% of the full 335-game sample.
- ESRB coverage across the sample is 80.9%; 64 records (19.1%) have no stored ESRB value.
- Among records that do carry a label, Mature accounts for 69.7%. This describes this popularity-oriented dataset, not all video-game releases.
Results
Percentages use all 335 records as the denominator, so the missing category is visible in every column.
| ESRB label | Games | Full sample | Relative count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mature | 189 | 56.4% | |
| Teen | 44 | 13.1% | |
| Everyone 10+ | 18 | 5.4% | |
| Everyone | 12 | 3.6% | |
| Adults Only | 7 | 2.1% | |
| Rating Pending | 1 | 0.3% | |
| Missing | 64 | 19.1% |
Method
- Take the 335 records returned by the in-repo dataset that powers the game library.
- Read the stored
esrbfield for each record. - Trim non-empty labels and group exact label strings.
- Keep blank or absent values in a separate Missing category.
- Calculate full-sample percentages using 335 as the denominator.
The aggregation is deterministic and can be reproduced from the downloadable JSON linked on the dataset citation page. No missing values were filled, and no rating was predicted from descriptions, genres or other metadata.
Limitations
- The collection emphasizes popular games and is not a random sample of all releases.
- Missing labels may reflect source coverage rather than an unrated product.
- Ratings can differ across editions, platforms, regions or later releases.
- Counts describe the dataset and do not explain why one label appears more often.
- Edition-specific claims require checking the individual game and its official rating record.
Reuse and citation
Suggested citation: The GameRulePro Editorial Team. “ESRB Rating Distribution in 335 Popular Games.” GameRulePro, updated September 12, 2026. When reusing the figures, preserve the sample description, the missing-value count and the limitations above.
Download and cite the underlying dataset or browse the individual records in the game database.
Sources and provenance
- Game metadata and recorded ESRB fields: GameRulePro in-repo game dataset.
- Underlying game metadata was retrieved from RAWG.io on August 21, 2026.
- Analysis performed by the GameRulePro Editorial Team on September 12, 2026.