Roblox has rolled out a fresh policy aimed at shielding younger users from games that incorporate "reward‑driven media feeds" within the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select catalogs. The company announced the change on its creator hub, explaining that the rule targets any title that blends media‑feed elements—such as short‑form videos, image streams, or story‑style feeds—with autoplay, infinite‑scroll, or auto‑scroll mechanics, and then ties those features to a reward system or even a hinted reward for continued viewing.
According to the official statement, Roblox is now actively auditing existing games to verify whether they comply with the new standards. Any title that fails to meet the criteria will be pulled from the Kids and Select sections unless the developer redesigns the offending gameplay loop.
"We are actively reviewing games for compliance with the new policy. Games that do not follow this policy will be removed from Kids and Select unless the game mechanic is redesigned," the post read. The policy appears to be a direct response to recent controversy surrounding the pet‑collecting simulator Steal an Egg. That game was reportedly taken offline after it was discovered to encourage users to run on a virtual treadmill while continuously watching content, rewarding them for the amount of media they consumed.
While GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Roblox for confirmation, the timing suggests a causal link between the incident and the new rule. Roblox laid out a three‑point checklist to determine whether a game falls under the restriction: 1. **Media Feed Presentation** – The game must show a feed of short videos, images, or story‑like content to the player.
2. **Automatic Playback or Endless Scrolling** – The experience must incorporate at least one of the following: autoplay, a continuous replay loop, infinite scrolling, or autoscrolling. 3.
**Reward Mechanic Tied to Viewing** – There must be a reward system that either requires or strongly suggests that the player keep watching the feed to earn in‑game benefits. The company clarified that the rule only applies when a reward component is combined with an infinite‑scroll or autoplay feature that effectively forces, or appears to force, ongoing consumption of the media.
Stand‑alone rewarded video ads are exempt, as those still require a deliberate user action to start and are subject to strict rate limits on how often a player can view them. Developers whose games are flagged will be given the opportunity to adjust their titles to meet the new standards. Once the changes are made, Roblox will conduct a re‑review. The platform also emphasized that all other eligibility requirements for inclusion in the Kids and Select collections remain unchanged, and that the Engaged Player metric will not be reset for games that undergo modifications.
The policy shift 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 legislative probe adds pressure on the company to demonstrate concrete steps toward protecting minors. In parallel with the policy rollout, Roblox has taken another notable step in the realm of safety by open‑sourcing three of its artificial‑intelligence safety models through the Robust Open Online Safety Tools Model Community (ROOST).
By sharing these models publicly, Roblox hopes to foster broader collaboration on AI‑driven safety solutions, signaling a commitment to transparency and community‑led improvement. Overall, the new restriction aims to eliminate a class of game mechanics that could subtly coerce children into endless media consumption in exchange for virtual rewards—a practice that many observers have likened to a digital version of the “pay‑to‑play” model but without the monetary transaction.
By drawing a clear line around autoplay and infinite‑scroll features linked to incentives, Roblox is attempting to balance creative freedom for developers with the responsibility of providing a safe, age‑appropriate environment for its youngest players. The effectiveness of the policy will likely be measured in the coming months as developers adapt their games and as regulators continue to monitor the platform’s compliance with child‑protection standards.