Roblox introduces ‘Kids’ and ‘Select’ accounts for age-appropriate access to games and chat

Roblox is introducing new account types designed to give kids and younger teens age-appropriate access to chat and games, the company announced on Monday.

The move comes as Roblox implemented mandatory age checks in January for all users who want to access chats. The same age-check technology will be used to assign users to these new accounts. As part of the changes, users who haven’t completed age checks will only be able to play a selection of games rated for younger audiences.

Users aged five to nine will be assigned to a “Roblox Kids” account, and users aged nine to 15 will be put in a “Roblox Select” account. Users aged 16 and up will be in a standard Roblox account. However, only users 18 and older can access “Restricted Content,” which includes strong violence, romantic themes, strong language, and more.

The new accounts are rolling out globally at the beginning of June. Roblox says it will give its users a transition period where it will allow all of its existing users to go through the age-check process.

Users with Roblox Kids accounts will have access to games with “Minimal” or “Mild” ratings, which refer to content with occasional mild violence, mild crude humor, and occasional mild fear. Chat will remain off by default for children younger than nine. The only way someone with a Kids account can chat with another user is if their parent selects specific individuals their child is allowed to communicate with.

Users with Roblox Select accounts will have access to games rated up to “Moderate” and will be able to chat with users in a similar age group.

Parents have the option to approve specific games for their children that aren’t available under their account’s default restrictions. For example, if a younger sibling wants to play a game that isn’t available on their Roblox Kids account with an older sibling, a parent can grant permission to allow access to that game.

Both Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts will only include games that have passed Roblox’s three-step screening criteria.

The first step is developer verification. Before their games can be considered for Roblox Kids or Roblox Select accounts, developers must first meet certain eligibility requirements. If they are under 16, they must complete ID verification or maintain a connection to a linked parent account. Their account must also have two-step verification enabled.

Additionally, they need to have an active Roblox Plus subscription. Roblox Plus, which launched last week and costs $4.99 per month, unlocks exclusive benefits, discounts on in-game items and avatars, and more. Roblox Premium, the company’s current subscription, will no longer accept new sign-ups once Roblox Plus launches on April 30.

After developer verification, Roblox will conduct a real-time evaluation of the games with users aged 16 and older, who will play the games first and submit feedback and reports, which Roblox says will help assess the experience before the games are made available to younger users. Roblox will also use its multimodal moderation system to evaluate whether games break its rules.

Finally, games must meet specific gameplay criteria to be played by younger users, including having the appropriate content maturity label.

Roblox’s recent changes follow a wave of lawsuits, including ones from the attorneys general of Louisiana and Texas, against Roblox over child safety concerns. The lawsuits were filed following reports that Roblox was exposing young users to dangerous risks, such as grooming and explicit content.