Roblox has rolled out a fresh policy aimed at shielding younger users from games that blend media feeds with reward systems, especially those listed under the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select categories. In an announcement posted to its Creator Hub, the company clarified that the rule targets any experience that mixes a scrolling or autoplaying media feed—such as short‑form videos, image streams, or story‑style posts—with incentives that either require or suggest that continuous viewing is necessary to earn in‑game benefits.
According to Roblox, the new guideline applies when a game meets three specific criteria. First, the experience must present a media feed to the player, resembling the endless scroll found on popular social platforms.
Second, it must incorporate at least one of the following mechanics: autoplay, a loop that repeats without user input, infinite scroll, or automatic scrolling. Third, the game must attach a reward element that either explicitly demands or implicitly encourages the player to keep watching the feed in order to receive those rewards. The company emphasized that the policy does not extend to traditional rewarded video advertisements, which remain permissible so long as the user initiates the ad themselves and the platform enforces limits on how many ads a player can watch in a given period.
In other words, the rule is narrowly focused on gameplay loops that covertly push children to consume an endless stream of content for the sake of earning virtual items, currency, or progression. Roblox stated that it is currently auditing existing titles to verify compliance. Any game that fails to meet the new standards will be pulled from the Kids and Select sections unless the developer revises the offending mechanics.
Developers whose games are adjusted to satisfy the policy will be re‑evaluated, and Roblox assured that all other eligibility requirements for inclusion in those curated collections will remain unchanged. In particular, the "Engaged Player" metric—a key factor for placement in the Select tier—will not be reset as a result of the review process. The policy announcement follows reports that the pet‑collecting simulator "Steal an Egg" was taken offline after it was discovered to feature a mechanic where players run on a virtual treadmill while a continuous feed of content plays, rewarding them for staying engaged with the endless stream.
While Roblox has not confirmed that the new rule was drafted solely in response to that specific case, the timing suggests a direct correlation. GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Roblox for clarification, and the platform’s response highlighted that the rule is intended to curb any design that pairs infinite scrolling or autoplay with reward incentives, regardless of the individual title. The move arrives amid heightened scrutiny of Roblox’s approach to child safety.
Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism announced an investigation into the platform, alleging that Roblox appears to prioritize revenue generation and engagement statistics over the well‑being of its younger audience.
The subcommittee’s inquiry underscores growing concerns among lawmakers and child‑advocacy groups about how immersive experiences can be engineered to maximize screen time and, consequently, advertising revenue. In a parallel development, Roblox has taken steps to improve transparency around its artificial‑intelligence safety tools.
The company recently open‑sourced three of its AI safety models through the Robust Open Online Safety Tools Model Community (ROOST), signaling an effort to invite external review and collaboration on safeguarding users from harmful content generated by AI systems. Overall, the new policy reflects Roblox’s attempt to balance the creative freedom it offers developers with the responsibility of protecting minors from potentially exploitative design patterns. By drawing a clear line around reward‑driven infinite media feeds, the platform hopes to reduce the likelihood that children will be lured into endless viewing loops that serve primarily commercial interests rather than genuine gameplay enjoyment. Developers will need to reassess any features that automatically push content without user interaction, especially when those features are tied to in‑game rewards, to remain eligible for inclusion in the highly visible Kids and Select catalogs.
The enforcement of this rule is expected to be an ongoing process. Roblox has indicated that it will continue to monitor the ecosystem, re‑review games that have been modified to comply, and maintain the existing qualification standards for the curated sections.
As the platform evolves, further updates to its safety policies may emerge, particularly as regulatory pressure mounts and as the community’s expectations for child‑friendly experiences continue to grow. In summary, Roblox’s latest restriction targets the intersection of endless media consumption and reward mechanics in games aimed at younger players. It seeks to eliminate design choices that compel children to watch an unending stream of videos or images in exchange for virtual perks, while still allowing legitimate rewarded ads that require active user initiation. The policy is part of a broader effort to address concerns about child safety, regulatory scrutiny, and the ethical use of AI on the platform.