Epic Games will require Australian players to verify their age before buying or downloading R18+ games. Beginning September 9, Australian players will have to confirm they are eligible to play before downloading or purchasing R18+ titles. The change complies with Australia’s Online Safety Act and does not affect games players already own or titles rated below R18+. Epic said the verification will be routed through Epic’s Kids Web Services (KWS). They work with third-party providers to provide multiple age-checking options while confining the information shared.
Why is Epic Games Introducing Age Verification for R18+ Games?
Epic Games mentioned that the new changes are for R18+ games on its Australian store. Players who pre owned the games will have continued access, while games carrying R18+ ratings will be susceptible to changes. The change is a part of Epic’s effort to follow local rules regulating access to age-restricted content. Rather than adopting a sole verification process, Epic is using KWS to offer several methods for Australian players to prove their eligibility.
The primary option is to opt for a selfie. Yoti uses the image to estimate the user’s age. Epic says the image is encrypted, not viewed by a human and deleted immediately after assessment. KWS does not receive the selfie.
One notion that remains unclear is the precision of the age estimation process. Epic Games says Yoti will analyze a player’s selfie to estimate their age, but the context provided does not include any statistics, error rates, or other context. This does not give insight into how efficiently the system can distinguish between different age groups. Since human facial features differ and age estimation through an involved, can increase ambiguity.
🇦🇺 Heads up Australia players: Due to local regulations, you'll need to verify that you're 18 or older to get or buy R18+ games on the Store, starting September 9. This won’t affect games you already own or anything rated below R18+. Here’s our blog post with more info about how… pic.twitter.com/O0ypjEya4J
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) September 7, 2026
The absence of such figures raises questions about how consistently the verification system works. This becomes necessary when the requirement is being introduced at a large scale to determine access to age-restricted content. Greater accountability around the system’s precision, testing, and potential margin of error could help users understand how suitable the verification process is.
Players can also use a credit card to prove their eligibility. Stripe authorizes a 5-cent transaction to confirm the card is valid, but the card is not actually charged. Epic says KWS does not receive the user’s credit card information.
A third option involves taking a photo of a government-issued ID. Veriff processes the identification document and uses it to verify the player’s age. Epic said the information is encrypted and the ID photo is deleted immediately after verification. KWS does not receive the ID.
ConnectID, Australia’s bank-based digital identity exchange, will be added later in September. It will allow users to confirm their age through their financial institution, with banking information not shared with ConnectID or KWS either.
How Will Epic’s Age Verification Work Beyond Australia?
The Australian launch is part of a wider KWS age-verification system that supports different methods depending on a user’s location. Epic’s documentation says that the available methods depend on the user’s country. Credit card verification is available globally with exceptions including Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Ukraine. Debit-card verification has a similar geographical reach but is not available in the United Kingdom.
ID scanning is present in most regions except South Korea. Users can verify their age by scanning government-issued identification such as passports, driving licenses and government ID cards. In the United Kingdom, an extra selfie is necessitated to verify the person.
Face scanning is also widely available, except in the United States and South Korea. Through this procedure, a machine learning system estimates the user’s age from a camera image. KWS also provides country-centric methods. In the United States and its territories, users can confirm their age using information including the last four digits of their Social Security number. Brazil supports CPF verification, while Mexico has CURP verification. South Korea supports iPIN and mobile phone verification.
However, for the Australian users, Epic has selected the selfie, credit card, ID scan, and upcoming ConnectID options. Epic said the information shared with its verification partners is used only to confirm age. Australian players buying or downloading R18+ games from September 9 will face the extra step. Microsoft began the same checks on Xbox and the Microsoft Store in Australia in late August, while Steam and PlayStation have not.
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