Age 5 · Video Games
Video Games for 5-year-olds
At five, the best video games are simple to understand, forgiving to control, and easy to stop. The goal is shared play and confidence—not keeping up with older siblings or mastering a complicated online world.
For most five-year-olds, offline or local play is easier to supervise than open online play. An ESRB E rating is a useful starting point, but difficulty, ads, purchases, and interactive features still matter.
What to evaluate at this age
What usually matters most at age 5
Simple controls
Look for games where the child can understand what to do and recover from mistakes without constant adult rescue.
Low-stakes content
Cartoon or fantasy action may be fine for some children, but scary enemies, time pressure, losing characters, or dark imagery can still feel intense.
Shared play
Co-play lets you teach controls, model stopping, and see whether frustration is manageable before the game becomes a solo activity.
No surprise spending
Lock purchases behind an adult password or platform control. A five-year-old should not be navigating real-money offers independently.
Use all three parts of the ESRB information
The age rating is the start of the decision, not the whole decision.
ESRB rating categories suggest age appropriateness: Everyone is generally suitable for all ages, Everyone 10+ for ages 10 and up, Teen for ages 13 and up, and Mature 17+ for ages 17 and up. Content descriptors explain what may have triggered the rating.
Interactive Elements flag features such as Users Interact, In-Game Purchases, purchases that include random items, location sharing, or unrestricted internet access. Those features may matter to your family even though they do not affect the ESRB age rating itself.
Online play changes the decision
Content, people, and money are three separate questions.
Keep online interaction very limited. Prefer local multiplayer or play with people the child and caregiver already know. Open voice/text chat and unrestricted user-created content add risks that are hard for a five-year-old to manage.
Use the controls before you need them
Gaming consoles and platforms commonly offer controls for play time, contacts, downloads, privacy, and purchases. Configure those settings before a problem occurs, then revisit them as the child demonstrates more judgment.
Healthy gaming is bigger than a timer
Protect the parts of the day that gaming should not replace.
Use gaming inside the family routine rather than as the default filler for every quiet moment. Protect sleep, meals, outdoor play, reading, and face-to-face time.
Current AAP guidance emphasizes high-quality media, family priorities, and whether digital use is crowding out sleep, physical activity, learning, relationships, and other important experiences. Parental controls and a family media plan can make those expectations concrete.
Keep exploring age 5
Video games are one part of the age 5 picture.
See how gaming fits alongside books, movies, technology, life skills, chores, and growing independence at age 5.
Explore age 5 See the Video Games framework → Read our methodology →Keep exploring
See how this changes by age—and what connects to it.
Age is useful in context. Compare the same topic nearby, or stay at age 5 and explore a related decision.
Specific games
Games parents ask about at age 5
Jump directly to a named-game parent guide, or continue below for the full age 5 comparison.
Age 5 decision snapshot
What fits at age 5?
Across 17 current Video Games guides, this is the age-specific recommendation picture. The status comes from the age-5 row for each guide—not just the product’s overall starting age.
0
Good fit now
Generally appropriate at this age with normal family boundaries.
4
Works with guidance
Potentially appropriate when the listed settings, supervision, or readiness conditions are in place.
13
Better to wait
The age-specific guidance says the experience asks for more maturity or access than we recommend right now.
Specific games parents ask about
See how individual games fit at age 5
These game-specific guides apply the same content, interaction, spending, and readiness framework to individual titles.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Conditional
Many 5-year-olds can enjoy Mario Kart with Smart Steering and an adult or older sibling, but controller coordination and losing race…
Game · At age 5Roblox
Conditional
Roblox Kids can make selected experiences workable before age 8, but younger children still need adults to choose experiences, manag…
Game · At age 5Rocket League
Conditional
A 5-year-old may enjoy driving cars in training or local play, but the controls and competitive online environment are too demanding…
Game · At age 5Super Mario Party Jamboree
Conditional
A 5-year-old may enjoy selected minigames with an adult or older sibling and simple team play.
Game · At age 5Among Us
Generally wait
The reading, deception, body imagery, and multiplayer social dynamics are a poor fit for most 5-year-olds.
Game · At age 5Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Generally wait
The content is mild, but reading demand and the slow, open-ended structure can make independent play difficult for younger children.
Game · At age 5Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Generally wait
The Mature 17+ violence, gore, language, and online systems are wholly inappropriate for most 5-year-olds.
Game · At age 5Fortnite
Generally wait
Fortnite combines repeated gun combat, fast competitive losses, online social play, and a strong cosmetic economy. Even when a young…
Game · At age 5Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Generally wait
Frequent combat, 3D navigation, and some intense boss sequences can be more demanding than the cute presentation suggests.
Game · At age 5Meccha Chameleon
Generally wait
The basic hide-and-seek idea is easy to understand, but the public multiplayer, communication, and user-content systems are too open…
Game · At age 5Minecraft
Generally wait
The core game is not especially graphic, but independent play asks a lot of a 5-year-old: 3D navigation, inventory management, readi…
Game · At age 5Orbitals
Generally wait
The E10+ fantasy combat, animated blood, multi-step puzzles, and constant two-player coordination are beyond what most 5-year-olds c…
Game · At age 5Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Generally wait
Many 5-year-olds enjoy Pokémon characters but may struggle to independently read instructions, navigate the open world, and manage…
Game · At age 5Splatoon 3
Generally wait
The E10+ rating, frenetic combat, online-first competition, and team pressure are a stronger fit for older elementary players.
Game · At age 5Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Generally wait
The content is mild, but precise jumping and increasingly tricky levels can be frustrating for younger players.
Game · At age 5Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Generally wait
The fast controls, screen action, and competitive fighting are too demanding for most 5-year-olds.
Game · At age 5The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Generally wait
Combat, open-world complexity, puzzles, and controller demands are too advanced for most 5-year-olds to manage independently.