Roblox has rolled out a fresh set of guidelines aimed at shielding younger players from games that incorporate what the company calls "reward‑driven media feeds" within the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select catalogs. The move is intended to curb the exposure of children to gameplay loops that blend endless scrolling or autoplay video feeds with incentives that push them to keep watching in order to earn in‑game benefits. In an announcement posted on the Roblox Creator Hub, the platform explained that the policy targets any experience that mixes a media feed—such as short‑form video clips, image streams, or story‑style social feeds—with mechanics like autoplay, continuous replay loops, infinite scroll or automatic scrolling, and then attaches a reward system that either explicitly requires or subtly suggests that players must continue viewing the content to receive the prize. "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 statement read. The company emphasized that developers whose titles are flagged will have an opportunity to modify the offending elements and submit the revised version for re‑evaluation. 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 was taken offline after it was discovered that it encouraged users to stay on a virtual treadmill while an endless stream of videos played, rewarding them with in‑game items for each loop completed.
Critics argued that the design effectively turned children into passive viewers, exploiting the natural desire for rewards to keep them engaged with a potentially endless media feed. GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Roblox for comment on whether the new rule was drafted specifically because of Steal an Egg.
While Roblox did not confirm a direct causal link, the timing of the announcement suggests a strong correlation between the incident and the platform's decision to tighten its standards. Roblox laid out a clear three‑point checklist for developers to determine if their game falls under the new restrictions: 1. **Media Feed Presence** – The experience must present a feed of short videos, images, or story‑like content that resembles a social media timeline.
2. **Automatic Playback or Scrolling** – The game must incorporate at least one of the following: autoplay of media, a continuous replay loop, infinite scroll, or an auto‑scroll function that moves the feed without user input.
3. **Reward Tied to Viewing** – There must be a reward system that either explicitly requires the player to keep watching the feed or strongly implies that continued consumption is necessary to earn the reward. Roblox clarified that the rule only kicks in when all three elements coexist.
If a game includes a media feed but does not tie it to a reward, or if it offers rewards without any autoplay or infinite scroll component, the policy does not apply. Importantly, the new guidelines do not affect traditional rewarded video advertisements.
Those ads still require a deliberate user action to start, and Roblox enforces rate limits on how many can be viewed within a given timeframe, ensuring they remain a voluntary, controlled experience. Developers whose games are found to be non‑compliant will be notified and given a window to adjust their mechanics.
Once the changes are made, the titles will undergo a re‑review process. Roblox also reassured creators that all other eligibility criteria for inclusion in the Kids and Select catalogs remain unchanged, and that the "Engaged Player" metric—a key factor in determining a game's placement—will not be reset as a result of the policy update. The policy rollout coincides with heightened scrutiny of Roblox from regulators.
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 metrics over the safety of its younger users. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the company’s monetization strategies, including in‑app purchases and ad placements, may expose children to predatory practices.
In a parallel effort to demonstrate its commitment to 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 broader research community, Roblox hopes to foster collaborative improvements in detecting harmful content and safeguarding users across the platform. Overall, the new "reward‑driven media feed" policy marks a significant step toward tightening the oversight of child‑focused experiences on Roblox.
By explicitly banning the combination of endless media consumption and reward incentives, the company aims to reduce the risk of addictive loops that could exploit the impressionable nature of its youngest audience. Developers will need to rethink how they integrate media elements and reward structures, ensuring that any engagement mechanisms are transparent, optional, and free from coercive design. As the platform continues to evolve under regulatory pressure, these measures may serve as a benchmark for how large, user‑generated content ecosystems balance monetization with the paramount responsibility of protecting children.