For as long as there have been age-ratings on games, one series more than any other has been used to represent the dangers of under-age gaming in our society: goon-to-kingpin gangster series Grand Theft Auto.

Despite every single Grand Theft Auto game that I can find a listing for holding a PEGI 18 age-rating in Europe (USK 18 in Germany), meaning the games are only suitable for legally defined adults, the series is widely played by teenagers who are younger.

The pros and cons of this are a recurring debate that swirls endlessly around whichever Grand Theft Auto instalment happens to be newest, and of course there’s a big new instalment coming, Grand Theft Auto 6, which releases in November. The topic is back on the tip of the tongue.

With this in mind, and while discovering that PEGI director general Dirk Bosmans has a 15-year-old son – we were speaking about changes to PEGI’s age-rating classifications – I decided to put him awkwardly on the spot. “Will you let your son play Grand Theft Auto 6 when it comes out?” I asked.

“I knew that question was going to come!” Bosmans responded. “Look, I’m the director of PEGI. My son said to me, ‘Dad.’ It was like, ‘I’m screwed, right? My dad’s the director of PEGI.'” He laughed.

“He thinks it’s pretty cool that his dad has this job, but he also sees okay, he might have to have some restrictions. But what we’ve always been able to show him is that for every game he wants to play – because there’s also peer pressure – there are 17 if not 170 or 1700 other games out there, appropriate for his age, that are actually just as fun if not more. That doesn’t take away the entire problem, because peer pressure isn’t necessarily about what the best or the coolest or the nicest game is, it’s just: the other kids play it. So with GTA 6, that is going to happen.”

PEGI’s role, as far as Bosmans is concerned, is to offer parents advice so that they can make informed decisions about what their child plays. “If a parent looks at the PEGI age and then says, ‘That game is a 16 but my 14-year-old is old enough to play this game,’ that’s an informed decision,” he said. “We don’t think there is a lot of risk involved there. It’s different from a 14-year-old that just plays any game because the parent doesn’t care. So I am going to have to see.”

“If a parent looks at the PEGI age and then says, ‘That game is a 16 but my 14-year-old is old enough to play this game,’ that’s an informed decision” -Dirk Bosmans

I have a 15-year-old son so I know how he feels: it’s a tricky decision to make, especially for someone in his position and his line of work. One thing that has definitely helped, though, has been the elongated wait for the game. “I have to admit,” Bosmans said, “I was very grateful for the delay of GTA 6.” He laughed again. “But it still may come a little bit too soon.”

He could be slow to pick up the game; that has apparently worked in the past. “But with GTA 6 it’s going to be so much of an event that it will be difficult to ignore,” he acknowledged. Still, he doesn’t have Hades 2 yet and he adores Hades 1; he taught his son about Greek mythology with it, which warms my heart. “I’ve got a PlayStation and an Xbox and I feel like it’s very unfair that I can’t play Hades 2,” he said, jokingly, “because Hades was my absolute favorite. I might be able to use that excuse to delay it a little longer.”

More seriously, Bosmans added: “Rather than strictly following the age classification, having the conversation with the kid is the most important thing. We always say to parents, if you can, play with your kids, because you have experts in the room and you’ll be amazed.

“They won’t stop talking about Minecraft. They’ll go on and on and on. You’ll get master classes about Minecraft, and it might actually show you why they’re so invested in this, because it’s a lot deeper than what you probably think about video games. And then, if you’ve had that conversation, probably talking back to them about screen time and when is the time for gaming might just be a little bit easier.”

Dirk Bosmans was speaking to me this week to explain what may be the largest changes PEGI has ever made to its age-rating classifications. PEGI will, from June, begin factoring in things like in-game purchases to determine a game’s age rating. Should a game sell paid random items such as loot boxes or card packs, for example, it will be stamped with an automatic PEGI 16. Most games will be unaffected by these changes but others, such as EA Sports FC, which is currently routinely rated PEGI 3, will likely face a considerable rating change.