Dear Reader:
ESRB and PEGI game ratings continue on as employees work remotely
The CERO ratings system in Japan is going on a one-month hiatus due to the coronavirus. This means games will be unable to secure ratings in Japan, leading to delays for numerous titles. While it's certainly an unfortunate situation, it's definitely more important for employees to remain safe.
When it comes to ESRB and PEGI ratings, work will continue on as usual. Both organizations are moving ahead with ratings by having their employees work from home, and it seems there's been minimal impact at best on work flow. Check out statements IGN obtained from the ESRB and PEGI below.
ESRB
Thanks to a good deal of advance planning, since March 16 ESRB has been operating remotely due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have seen no delay in assigning ratings. We will continue to assign ratings remotely for as long as required.
PEGI
In short: yes, we are currently working remotely with minimal impact on our operations. When this situation started to unfold across Europe a couple of weeks ago, we quickly found a way to continue our daily operations by working remotely. Given that PEGI (in Brussels) works with two independent administrators that are located in The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and they deal with publishers all over the world that we do not have to meet in person, cooperating remotely has always been part of our daily routine. But now it happens from homes instead of different offices.
We informed the companies using the PEGI system that, until local authorities announce a change to the current measures, we will be working like this. But until now, the impact of the pandemic and the resulting measures has been minimal.