Roblox has rolled out a fresh set of guidelines aimed at shielding younger users from games that blend media feeds with reward systems, particularly within the Roblox Kids and Select collections. The company announced the policy on its Creator Hub, emphasizing that any experience that mixes scrolling or autoplay video feeds with incentives for continued viewing will no longer be permitted in those child‑focused sections. According to the official statement, the rule targets games that feature any combination of the following elements: a media feed that resembles short‑form videos, image streams, or story‑style posts; mechanics such as autoplay, infinite scroll, auto‑scroll, or continuous replay loops; and a reward structure that either explicitly requires or subtly suggests that players must keep watching the content to earn in‑game benefits. When a game meets all three criteria, it falls squarely under the new restriction.
"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 post read. The company added that developers whose titles are flagged will have the opportunity to modify the offending features and submit the revised version for re‑evaluation. Existing qualifications for inclusion in the Kids and Select categories, such as the Engaged Player metric, will remain unchanged, and any adjustments made to meet the policy will not reset those qualifications.
The policy appears to be a direct response to recent controversy surrounding the pet‑collecting simulator Steal an Egg. Reports surfaced that the game encouraged players to run on a virtual treadmill while a never‑ending stream of content played in the background, rewarding them only if they continued to watch. This mechanic was deemed problematic because it effectively forced children to consume an indefinite amount of media in order to progress, raising concerns about both attention‑span manipulation and the monetisation of that attention.
GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Roblox for clarification on whether the new rule was drafted specifically because of Steal an Egg. While Roblox did not confirm a direct causal link, the timing suggests that the incident served as a catalyst for tightening the platform’s child‑safety safeguards. To illustrate how the policy works, Roblox outlined three core conditions that must be present for a game to be deemed non‑compliant: 1.
**Media Feed Presentation** – The game displays a feed of short‑form videos, images, or story‑like content that resembles a social‑media timeline. 2. **Automatic Playback or Endless Scrolling** – The experience includes autoplay, a continuous replay loop, infinite scroll, or auto‑scroll functionality that keeps the feed moving without user input.
3. **Reward Dependency** – The game ties in‑game rewards—such as virtual currency, items, or progression boosts—to the act of watching or scrolling through the feed, either explicitly or by implication. Roblox stressed that the rule does not extend to traditional rewarded video advertisements.
Those ads require an active user click to start, and the platform already imposes rate limits on how many ads a player can view within a given timeframe. The new policy is narrowly focused on gameplay mechanics that blend endless media consumption with reward incentives, a combination that the company believes could exploit younger audiences. Developers whose titles are affected will be notified and given a window to adjust their games. Once the changes are made, the titles will undergo a re‑review process.
Roblox assured that all other eligibility criteria for inclusion in the Kids and Select sections remain in force, and that the Engaged Player metric—used to gauge a game's popularity and retention—will not be reset as a result of the policy update. The policy rollout coincides with heightened scrutiny of Roblox from U.S.
lawmakers. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism announced an investigation into the platform, alleging that Roblox appears to prioritise revenue generation and engagement metrics over the safety of its youngest users. The subcommittee’s concerns echo broader industry debates about how gaming platforms balance monetisation strategies with the duty to protect children from potentially harmful content and manipulative design practices.
In a separate move aimed at bolstering transparency and safety, Roblox recently open‑sourced three of its artificial‑intelligence safety models through the Robust Open Online Safety Tools Model Community (ROOST). By sharing these models with the wider research community, Roblox hopes to foster collaborative development of tools that can detect and mitigate unsafe or exploitative content across its ecosystem.
Overall, the new “reward‑driven media feed” restriction represents a significant step for Roblox in addressing the growing concerns about how endless scroll and autoplay features can be weaponised to keep children hooked for longer periods. By mandating that any reward system be decoupled from mandatory media consumption, the platform aims to create a safer, more age‑appropriate environment while still allowing developers creative freedom—provided they respect the boundaries set to protect younger players. The enforcement of this policy will likely lead to a wave of updates across the Roblox catalogue, as developers re‑engineer their games to remove or alter the flagged mechanics.
Observers will be watching closely to see how effectively Roblox balances the dual goals of fostering an engaging, innovative gaming ecosystem and upholding its responsibility to safeguard the wellbeing of its youngest audience.