Roblox adding game and content ratings to ensure age appropriate gaming

Gaming platform Roblox has announced changes to the way kids access games, separating them into age-appropriate categories in an effort to prevent kids playing games not suitable for them.

These changes come on the back of Roblox being among the first platforms to begin age verification using facial scans in Australia before rolling that out globally.

But those efforts weren’t enough to satisfy regulators, with the Australian government putting Roblox on notice over concerns about child safety.

Today, the company announced a set of account types to be assigned to users of various ages.

Roblox Kids will be for kids aged 5 to 8, Roblox Select for kids aged 9 to 15, and Roblox for all users over 16.

Going forward, games on Roblox will be assigned a rating from Minimal, Mild and Moderate through to Restricted, which will only be available to those aged 18 or over.

All games will undergo a three-step process before being seen by younger kids. The first step is developer verification, including ID document checks, to ensure proper ownership of the game. Some developers are young and may need to be linked to a parental account. The second step is a real-time evaluation where gameplay from users over 16 is analysed to check if scenes break Roblox’s rules and flag signals from their moderation system. Finally, games must meet gameplay criteria covering what experiences they can include.

There is also an expansion of parental controls, allowing parents to block specific games and manage direct messaging for any user under 16.

It’s remarkable that online platforms like this are only now catching up to the very simple system of content ratings that has existed for generations in film and television.