Roblox is in the midst of expanding and implementing new systems and policies around age verification and user safety, including setting a date for when it plans to restrict unrated Roblox experiences for all users. Starting on September 30, 2025, (most) unrated games will not be playable or discoverable by anyone.
When the new rules roll out next month, unrated games won’t be deleted entirely, but instead locked to a developer-only view limited to “people actively working on the experience.” That’s good news for developers who may need more time to comply with the short notice, but the decision raised concerns about rendering unrated, abandoned games entirely inaccessible.
Roblox says it has a solution for keeping “popular classics available for players to enjoy” in its updated developer forum post, explaining that its moderators “will identify notable experiences from creators who are no longer active on Roblox, and ensure they have content maturity labels.”
What counts as a “popular classic” will rely on factors like lifetime visits, recent visits, engagement, and games marked as user favorites. If you’ve got an old Roblox experience you’re worried about, the announcement included a bit of advice to advocate for its preservation:
“If there is an experience that you want to remain public, simply play or favorite that experience. This will provide us with signals on where to focus our efforts. We will provide regular updates on our progress to preserve classic Roblox content.”
Responses to its latest clarification around unrated restrictions are all over the place. What started as a restricted content policy change from last year prohibiting children under 13 from playing, searching for, or discovering unrated games has ballooned into something far-reaching. On Reddit, IAmABoredCat1590 shared a recent Roblox creator email reminding developers of the change, and responses include community concerns for smaller, abandoned games that may fly under the radar.
Oh! They’re doing it **now?** from r/roblox
That’s echoed in developer responses on the Roblox forum, too. One programmer highlighted a sentiment I’ve seen pop up a few times now, suggesting Roblox mark all old experiences 18+ by default so they’re not left unplayable if they do not meet the criteria for “popular classic.”
Roblox responded to some of the complaints, again asking active creators to complete compliance forms for every game they wish to keep active and further clarifying its preservation guidelines for inactive games:
“We understand that some of your favorite experiences were published by creators who are no longer active on Roblox. To ensure these cherished classics are not lost, we are committed to preserving all unique public experiences from these creators that have reached at least 1,000 lifetime visits.
“This is a significant undertaking that will take time. Our work begins immediately, with an initial push to preserve a large number of classics by September 30, 2025. We will continue this process until every unique public experience with over 1,000 lifetime visits as of that date has been preserved.”
The response at least outlines the bar for what counts as a legacy experience worth salvaging to the Roblox team, but inevitably means some games will disappear for good unless their creators return.
The whole thing is an ugly mess as Roblox reckons with years of accusations regarding failures to protect children from predators using the platform. And while the platform did announce earlier versions of these guidelines last year, there’s been a rapid-fire list of additions following Louisiana’s Roblox lawsuit claiming the platform “continues to facilitate the distribution of child sexual abuse material.”
Read the full article here
