The ESRB, announces a new rating system for digitally delivered games that will offer parents more information while offering developers and publishers a free service:

This morning, ESRB announced a new streamlined, no-cost service for rating all digitally delivered games (console download games, online games, streaming, social network games, etc.). Also, this new Digital Rating Service will not only assess content and age appropriateness, but now adds interactive elements that matter a great deal to parents, such as sharing personal information or physical location and exposure to unfiltered user-generated content.

For consumers, especially parents, this new service means extending a single, consistent and credible rating standard across the many platforms on which their kids can access content. Parents concerns now extend beyond just content; they want ratings to address sharing of kids’ personal information or interaction with others.

For the game developers, the streamlined rating process makes obtaining an ESRB rating fast and easy by assigning a rating immediately. By simplifying the process and eliminating the cost to developers, ESRB expects to broaden adoption of its ratings among game providers of all types. ESRB’s Digital Rating Service joins the CTIA Mobile Application Rating System with ESRB, which was launched last year and uses a similar process to assign ESRB ratings to mobile apps.