Free checklist
The GTA 6 creator safety checklist
Launch week is the worst time to lose your ads or have a video taken down. These are the rules most likely to catch you out, each one linked to the official page it comes from.
Checked against the official pages on November 14, 2026. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Policies change, so the linked page is always the final word.
01Keep graphic violence out of the first 7 seconds and off the thumbnail
YouTube's advertiser-friendly guidelines say graphic game violence can earn ads when it starts after the first 7 seconds of the video. Graphic game violence in the first 7 seconds or in the thumbnail can mean limited ads or none.
What to do: Open on something calm: the map, a car, your own reaction. Save the shootout for later in the video and pick a thumbnail without gore.
Official source: YouTube Help: Advertiser-friendly content guidelines
02Give violent gameplay a point
The same guidelines say ordinary, unedited gameplay violence is generally fine for ads. Montages where gratuitous violence is the focus are not, and gameplay made mainly to shock, such as mass killings of non-playable characters, gets no ads.
What to do: Build the video around a challenge, a test or a story. A rampage compilation is the riskiest format for ads.
Official source: YouTube Help: Advertiser-friendly content guidelines
03Don't build the video around drug use or sexual content
Drug deals shown in gaming content can earn ads, but game content that focuses on drug use gets limited ads. Sexual video game content, or content that sexualizes characters, gets none.
What to do: These scenes can appear in passing as part of normal play. Don't make them the subject of the video, the title or the thumbnail.
Official source: YouTube Help: Advertiser-friendly content guidelines
04Keep strong language out of titles and thumbnails
Strong profanity in a title or thumbnail means no ads, and moderate profanity there means limited ads. Heavy profanity in a thumbnail is also listed as a reason a video can be age-restricted.
What to do: The game is rated M. Your title and thumbnail don't have to be.
Official source: YouTube Help: Advertiser-friendly content guidelines · YouTube Help: Age-restricted content
05Don't cut a video down to only the most violent moment
YouTube may age-restrict videos that focus solely on the most graphically violent part of a video game. Age-restricted videos can't be watched by viewers who are under 18 or signed out, and they may get limited or no ads.
What to do: Keep context around violent scenes: the lead-up, the result and your commentary.
Official source: YouTube Help: Age-restricted content
06Know the bar for getting paid
To earn ad revenue you need to be in the YouTube Partner Program: 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Watch time from the Shorts feed doesn't count toward the 4,000 hours. YouTube also says updated program terms take effect on February 1, 2027, and creators must accept them in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027 to keep monetizing.
What to do: Launch-week views count toward these totals even before you're accepted. Turn on 2-Step Verification and keep the channel free of Community Guidelines strikes so nothing holds up your application.
Official source: YouTube Help: YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility
08Don't mass-produce near-identical videos
YouTube calls this inauthentic content: videos that look made from a template, including AI-generated videos built on generic templates, and slideshows or scrolling text with little or no commentary. Channels like this can't monetize.
What to do: A few videos with one clear idea each beat dozens of copies. If you use AI tools, your own voice and judgment should carry the video.
Official source: YouTube Help: YouTube channel monetization policies
09Make sure the title and thumbnail match the video
YouTube's spam and deceptive practices policies cover maliciously misleading titles, thumbnails and descriptions that trick people into clicking a video that doesn't deliver what was promised. Videos can be removed, and repeated violations lead to strikes.
What to do: Before launch, don't dress up old footage or guesses as real gameplay from the new game. After launch, show in the video what the thumbnail promises.
Official source: YouTube Help: Spam, deceptive practices and scams policies
11Expect copyright claims on in-game radio music
YouTube's Content ID automatically claims uploads that match copyrighted music. The music's owner then decides what happens: block the video, run ads on it, or just track it. A claim is not a strike, but Shorts between 1 and 3 minutes long are blocked while a claim is active.
What to do: Turn the in-game radio off while you record, and check the game's audio settings for a way to mute licensed music. If a video is claimed, you can mute or replace the song in YouTube Studio to clear the claim.
Official source: YouTube Help: Learn about Content ID claims · YouTube Help: YouTube Shorts monetization policies
12Stay off Rockstar's takedown list
Rockstar's policy on posting its material lists what gets a takedown notice: footage from leaked or early copies before release day (early unboxing videos included), videos of the ending or of cutscenes cut together on their own, in-game TV shows and comedy performances posted in isolation, videos that promote cheating or exploits in its online games, and promotion of unauthorized mods or ports.
What to do: Cutscenes are fine inside a longer play-through or a narrated Let's Play. Don't post them as stand-alone clips, and don't post anything from a copy obtained before release day.
Official source: Rockstar Games Customer Support: Policy on posting copyrighted Rockstar Games material
13Know that Rockstar's permission is written for non-commercial fans
The same policy says Take-Two generally doesn't object to fans posting gameplay for non-commercial use that doesn't spoil the plot. It describes non-commercial as not making money through the footage and not using it to promote a product or service, and it says Take-Two can have its material taken down at any time. It also says the policy doesn't cover advertisements.
What to do: Read the policy yourself before you build income on game footage, and never put game footage in an ad or a paid promotion. The policy lists an email address for questions.
Official source: Rockstar Games Customer Support: Policy on posting copyrighted Rockstar Games material
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