SAN FRANCISCO, June 23 — The Roblox video game platform, adored by youngsters, is taking a more adult turn, now allowing users to build content on more grown-up themes. From violence and romance to alcohol and crude humour, here’s what you can now do on Roblox if you’re over 17.

Roblox knows that its users are getting older. According to its data, the 17-24 age group has been the fastest-growing on the platform. "In 2022, 38% of our daily active users were 17 and over,” Roblox explains in a blog post.

To continue to appeal to its young users as they grow up, Roblox has decided to allow the creation of content aimed at more mature players. This content may include alcohol consumption, drunken behaviour, references to romantic but non-sexual subjects, realistic violence and bloodshed.

Only players who are at least 17 years old, and whose profile has been verified, will be able to create and enjoy these new experiences. Players under 17 won’t be able to access them. In addition to the two existing categories — "9 and older” and "13 and older” — Roblox users will now be able to choose the "17 and older” category to enjoy this new content. "Now, creators will be able to offer experiences for those 17 and older that feature more mature themes and storylines like in TV shows or stand-up comedy. These experiences may contain more violence, blood, or crude humour,” the platform states. Note that while themes of love or romance are now permitted, sexual content is still forbidden, as are nudity and sexually explicit conversations.

According to the Roblox website, players aged between 9 and 13 can access content with unrealistic blood, violence and moderate crude humour, and watch gambling content but cannot play it. "We want Roblox to simulate and even go beyond what’s possible in the real world. For example, when a family attends a sporting event, there’s something at the stadium for everyone to do. But some of these areas may be off-limits for young people. As they get older, though, they’ll be able to access those areas, and we want to replicate that dynamic on Roblox.”

To take advantage of this new age tier, players will have to meet certain conditions. As previously mentioned, players will have to verify their profile and, above all, their age, by taking a selfie and providing a photograph of a government-issued ID document. While verifying social network users’ profiles using official documents has been the subject of much debate, Roblox is pleased with its own system, and even mentions the possibility of adding other age-verification methods in the future.

Additional good news for users aged 17 and over is they will potentially be able to earn money from their creations: "We hope to inspire them to build aged-up experiences by highlighting them in our recommendation tools solely to people who are at least 17. That means creators will have new opportunities for increased engagement and potential earnings,” says Roblox. — ETX Studio