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Do Video Games Have ISBNs? (No — They Use UPC, EAN, Platform IDs)

No. Video games do **not** use ISBN (International Standard Book Number). ISBN is for **books, e-books, audiobooks, and print publications**.

Identifiers Used for Video Games

CodeNameUseExample
UPCUniversal Product CodeNorth American retail barcode (12-digit)047875845327 (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
EANEuropean Article NumberInternational retail barcode (13-digit)5060327531234
JANJapanese Article NumberJapan retail (EAN-13 prefix 45/49)4902370543210
SKUStock Keeping UnitRetailer-specific inventory codeGS-NSW-MK8D (GameStop)
Platform IDTitle ID / Content IDDigital store identifierCUSA-12345 (PS4), 000100000011C (Switch), 9NBLGGH4V3JH (Xbox)
ESRB / PEGI / CERO / USK Rating IDRating Board CodeRegulatory classificationESRB-44211
IGDB / Giant Bomb / MobyGames IDDatabase Primary KeyAPI / catalogingigdb:12345

Why Not ISBN?

  • Games are software products, not publications.
  • ISBN agency (ISBN International) does not assign to software.
  • Some **game guide books** (strategy guides, art books) *have* ISBNs — but the game itself does not.

If you need a unique ID for a game: Use Platform Title ID (Steam AppID, PSN Content ID, Xbox PFN, Nintendo Title ID) or UPC/EAN for physical.


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