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Users aged 17 and up are required to verify their accounts to access Roblox’s adult content.
Developers of the gaming platform Roblox have announced they would begin creating material geared towards its more adult players.
In a press release Tuesday (June 21), Roblox chief public officer Manuel Bronstein said the updates were a natural next step for the platform, as players aged 17 to 24 now constitute 38% of daily active users and are poised to be the fastest growing population segment on the game. He imagined some ideas like more photorealistic horror or action games or certain in-game additions to specific settings.
The rise of older players in the game could be attributed to COVID-19 as a way for players of all ages to cope with boredom during the first few months of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. As a result, Roblox had a "rapid" revenue growth which prompted the company developing the game to go public the same year.
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Roblox Considered Educational Games
Roblox was initially considered an educational game for children, pre-teens, and teenagers. Still, the developers unveiled a new content category limited to users aged 17 and up. Roblox adult content would allow experiences including "crude humor," more graphic violence, "romantic themes and topics," and references to alcohol and gambling.
The game has since grown into a major metaverse platform used to host concerts, acts like Lizzo and Elton John, and virtual outposts of brands from Gucci to Walmart.
Since Roblox would be adding more mature content, Bronstein said, users aged 17 and up would need to verify their ages to the game by uploading an image of an ID and a matching selfie before accessing the new adult content.
However, Roblox would still restrict nudity and sexual content, as well as depictions of animal abuse, "extreme violence," tobacco, or "regulated drugs" besides alcohol. Crude humor, which describes burping, farting, urinating, or defecating, is allowed, but "real world depictions of [such] bodily functions" are not allowed.
The game has been the focus of past reports of inappropriate content, harassment, and bullying. The company stressed that users could report inappropriate content or behavior or even block users they were uncomfortable with.
Bronstein hopes for Roblox to become a platform similar to a sports stadium, where activities are available for users of all ages. "We're sure that the community's going to create something that we're not even thinking about," he added.
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