Violence is a content descriptor used in PEGI 7, 12, 16 and 18. It signifies that there may be depictions of violence, blood and/or gore in a video game. It is the most commonly used content descriptor used by PEGI since its creation in 2003, with 1100 titles (63.2%) rated in 2020 using the descriptor. Gratuitous killing (killing with no mercy) generally is only passed PEGI 18. Most games with violence towards humans (non-graphic) or graphic non-human violence usually receive a PEGI 12 rating, and rarely a PEGI 16.
These are the details for the violence in European games.
- PEGI 7: non-realistic violence towards fantasy characters or implied violence
- PEGI 12: fantasy violence towards human or human-like characters, realistic violence towards non-human characters, sporting violence, violence without injury detail
- PEGI 16: realistic looking violence that may show details of injury and/or death
- PEGI 18: extreme, gory violence, sexual violence, or violence towards defenceless people
The icon is not intended to be used for PEGI 3 rated titles. This does not mean that absolutely no violence is permitted at PEGI 3. Very mild slapstick is allowed at PEGI 3, without the violence descriptor. For example, in Super Mario Party, the content issues say "The game contains very mild violence in a child-like, pixelated or abstract setting like characters being jumped on which causes circling stars above them." This is permitted at PEGI 3 as the content is so mild it does not qualify for the violence descriptor. Note that some games (such as "LEGENDS Flashback Blast / Pac-Man") have received the PEGI 3 rating with the extraneous violence descriptor.