Roblox has rolled out a fresh set of guidelines aimed at shielding younger players from games that blend media feeds with reward systems, especially within its Roblox Kids and Select collections. In a recent announcement posted on the company’s creator hub, the platform clarified that the new policy targets any experience that mixes media‑type feeds—such as short‑form videos, image carousels, or story‑style streams—with mechanics like autoplay, infinite scrolling, or continuous replay, and then attaches a reward or an implied promise of a reward for watching that content. The company emphasized that it is now actively auditing existing titles for compliance. Any game that fails to meet the new standards will be pulled from the Kids and Select sections unless the developer redesigns the offending mechanic.
"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 Roblox team wrote. The policy appears to be a direct response to recent controversy surrounding the pet‑collecting simulator Steal an Egg.
According to multiple reports, the game required players to run on a virtual treadmill while a continuous stream of videos played, offering in‑game rewards only to those who kept watching. After the mechanic drew criticism for encouraging endless consumption of media, the title was taken offline.
GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Roblox for confirmation on whether the new rule was drafted specifically because of that incident, but Roblox has not publicly linked the two events. To clarify exactly what falls under the new regulation, Roblox outlined three criteria that must all be present for a game to be considered a violation: 1. **A media feed is presented to the player** – This could be a feed of short videos, a scrolling gallery of images, or a series of story‑like posts reminiscent of popular social‑media platforms.
2. **The experience includes at least one of the following mechanics** – autoplay, a loop that repeats content automatically, infinite scroll, or autoscroll that moves the feed without user input.
3. **A reward system is tied to the consumption of that content** – The game either explicitly requires ongoing viewing to earn a reward or strongly implies that continuous watching is necessary to obtain in‑game benefits. Roblox stressed that the rule only activates when a reward component is paired with an infinite‑scroll or autoplay feature that demands—or suggests—continuous engagement.
Stand‑alone reward video ads are exempt, as those still require a deliberate user action to start and are subject to strict rate‑limiting controls that cap how many ads a player can view in a given period. Developers whose games are flagged will have the opportunity to adjust their titles and submit them for re‑evaluation. Roblox noted that all other eligibility requirements for inclusion in the Kids and Select catalogs remain unchanged, and the "Engaged Player" metric will not be reset for games that are updated to meet the new standards.
The timing of this policy shift coincides with heightened scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism announced an investigation into Roblox, alleging that the platform appears to prioritize revenue generation and engagement metrics over the safety of its younger audience.
The inquiry underscores growing concerns about how monetization strategies—particularly those that blend advertising, in‑app purchases, and reward loops—might affect children’s digital wellbeing. In a related move toward transparency and safety, Roblox also open‑sourced three of its artificial‑intelligence safety models through the Robust Open Online Safety Tools Model Community (ROOST).
By sharing these models publicly, the company hopes to foster collaborative improvement of AI‑driven moderation tools, which could play a role in detecting and preventing the kinds of exploitative reward‑driven media loops now prohibited in the Kids and Select environments. Overall, the new policy signals Roblox’s attempt to balance a vibrant, creator‑driven ecosystem with the responsibility of protecting its youngest users.
By drawing a clear line against endless media consumption tied to incentives, the platform aims to curb practices that could encourage addictive behavior while still allowing developers to innovate within safe boundaries. As the review process unfolds, creators will need to reassess how they integrate media feeds and reward structures, ensuring that any engagement loops are transparent, optional, and appropriate for a child‑friendly audience. The broader industry will be watching closely to see whether Roblox’s approach sets a precedent for other gaming platforms that host user‑generated content.
If successful, the policy could become a benchmark for regulating reward‑based media mechanics across the wider digital entertainment landscape, reinforcing the principle that monetization should never come at the expense of child safety.