Microsoft to revise Windows Store guidelines to allow ‘mature’ games and apps

Microsoft will revise it’s previously established submission guidelines for the Windows Store, which prohibited games and apps with a rating above ESRB Mature or PEGI 16. Since few titles garner the ESRB’s Adults Only rating, the previous policy bore little impact for US consumers, but in Europe, many franchises fall under the PEGI 18 rating, subsequently prohibiting the sale of games from the most popular franchises, like ‘Call of Duty,’ ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ or even ‘Halo.’ According to comments made to Gizmodo and later confirmed by The Verge, Microsoft plans to alter the policy to account for PEGI 18 content by December, giving developers and publishers time to update their listings.