People without age verification can only access kid-friendly games.
Roblox is introducing an age verification process for users to access games meant for those nine and older. This change accompanies the rollout of new account types: Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, each providing different protections for various age groups.
The company faces criticism for alleged child safety issues and is embroiled in multiple state lawsuits. Initiatives to bolster safety include locking down sexual content, improving parental controls, and requiring age verification to access chat. Over 50% of Roblox’s 144 million daily active users have completed age verification.
With the new accounts, those identified between ages five to eight or those opting out of age verification will get a Roblox Kids account, restricted to games with “Minimal” or “Mild” content maturity levels, and chat turned off by default. Parents can, however, approve chat with specific individuals. Roblox Select accounts, for ages nine to fifteen, allow “Moderate” level access, with chat enabled progressively based on age.
Parents connected to their child’s account can set the child’s age, transitioning them from Kids to Select, and eventually to standard accounts as they grow.
Both new account types will only access games passing a three-step review: developer verification via government ID or parental link, two-factor authentication, and a Roblox Plus subscription. Games must also pass real-time moderation and have a content maturity label, transitioning to IARC standards later this year.
Roblox hasn’t specified the review process duration, but aims to ensure games are suitable for Kids and Select accounts based on maturity levels. Juliet Chaitin-Lefcourt indicated that most favorite games should be ready post-review.
Additionally, parents will have new controls, like blocking specific games until their child turns 16. Roblox expects worldwide rollout of these updates by early June.