Not a game for kids: reading HAUNTED's PEGI 18 warning

The short version: HAUNTED: Are You Alone? is rated PEGI 18 in the Meta Horizon Store, with the note “Extreme Violence”. The game shows a two-page content warning every time you launch the app. That warning isn’t a formality — it’s a fairly accurate description of what follows. On launch day, just before Halloween, the message is clear: this is a game for adults.

What the store says

The details on the store page, as of 10 October 2026:

Age rating: PEGI 18
Content note: Extreme Violence
Comfort: “Comfortable for some” (Moderate)
Play modes: Room-scale, Standing

PEGI 18 is the highest tier in the European system. It means the raters judge a game to be suitable for adults only.

What the launch warning covers

According to the studio, the two-page warning appears every time the app launches. It names four types of content:

Sudden loud noises. The scares are built on volume. Sound comes from real positions in your room, including from behind you.
Flashing and dimmed light. Several chapters play out almost in the dark, others flicker.
Gore. Severed arms, blood on your walls, a skull peeling out of a face.
Intense jump scares. Figures appear right in front of your face.

The warning also names who shouldn’t play it:

Children
Pregnant women
People with epilepsy
People with heart conditions
People with anxiety disorders

What that means in practice

No big spoilers, just a few examples from the documented story:

Chapter I: A witch you mustn’t look at. Hold your gaze too long and she snaps her head up and screams.
Chapter II: Ghostly hands hammer against your walls from the inside. An arm three to four metres long breaks through. Every cut ends in slow motion with blood.
Chapter IV: A face in a hole in the floor peels halfway into a screaming, rotting skull. According to the studio, it’s the loudest moment up to that point.
Chapter VI: A nun with her mouth sewn shut.

This is horror with force behind it. And it happens in your own room, not in some unfamiliar virtual world.

Why mixed reality makes the warning more serious

With classic VR horror you can tell yourself: this isn’t my house. HAUNTED takes that distance away. Arms break out of your walls. A hole opens in your floor. A hellhound hangs from your ceiling.

That amplifies the effect. And it lingers in the room afterwards. If you sleep in the same room after playing, think about that beforehand.

Why the warning appears on every launch

By the tenth launch that might seem excessive. We think it’s right, for two reasons:

Headsets get shared. A Quest often sits in the living room and gets used by several people. Someone who didn’t buy the game still sees the warning.
Guests join in. The studio describes HAUNTED as a “show it to a friend” title. Every new player should know what they’re getting into.

What parents should know

If children have access to the Quest, use Meta’s parental controls and account features to restrict games by age rating.
Watching isn’t suitable for children either. The sounds are loud, and gore is visible on the mirrored screen.
The game is explicitly not aimed at children or teenagers.

What the warning doesn’t cover

Room to move. The warning is about content. For safety in the room: clear the space, get pets out, turn the lights on. You’ll be crawling and swinging your arms.
Comfort. The game never moves the camera itself. That reduces the risk of nausea. The store still rates comfort as “Comfortable for some”.

What to watch next

The first user reviews will show how players rate the intensity. Until then, the game’s own warning stands.

Buy, wait or skip?

Buy if you’re an adult, you like horror and you don’t have any of the conditions listed. Wait if you’re unsure whether jump scares in your own room will sit well with you. Skip without debate: children, teenagers, pregnant women and people with epilepsy, heart conditions or anxiety disorders. Store page to check the rating yourself: HAUNTED: Are You Alone? in the Meta Horizon Store.