Roblox, the hugely popular online game platform, is set to allow more “romantic” content to be hosted on it, as part of the launch of a new category for users aged 17 and over.
According to Roblox, the new adult (or almost-adult) category still won’t allow content that depicts nudity, sexual activity, or the seeking of “real-world romantic relationships”. So, this is very much not Roblox going full ‘adult content’ (‘RobloXXX’, perhaps?) quite yet.
Instead the move will see more violence and mature themes, such as “crude humor”, allowed, and is part of a drive for Roblox to attract more users. Users need to go through an age verification process, involving uploading a selfie and government-approved ID, to access the new category.
Creators who sign up to Roblox make games on the platform for other users to play. Although Roblox has a reputation as being largely for kids, the company said that most of its creators are aged over 18, and that 38 percent of the platform’s daily active users were aged 17 and over last year.
Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world. According to Statista, it has a total of 66.1 million daily active users.
The new ’17 and over’ category will allow content including “intense violence, heavy realistic blood, moderate crude humor, romantic themes, unplayable gambling content and/or the presence of alcohol.”
Announcing the new category, Roblox said that creators would “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 humor.”
The question, perhaps, is why “intense violence” and “unplayable gambling” are more acceptable than non-explicit human relationships in these experience guidelines.
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