Roblox has rolled out a fresh set of guidelines designed to keep children from encountering "reward‑driven media feeds" inside games that appear in the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select catalogs. The company announced the change on its Creator Hub, explaining that the rule targets any experience that blends media‑type feeds—such as short‑form video clips, image streams, or story‑like social posts—with mechanics that automatically play, endlessly scroll, or otherwise keep the content moving without user input, while also attaching a reward system that either requires or suggests that continuous viewing is necessary to earn in‑game benefits. According to the official statement, Roblox is now actively auditing existing titles for compliance.
Developers whose games violate the new standards will see their titles removed from the Kids and Select sections unless they redesign 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 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 introduced a feature that placed players on a virtual treadmill, urging them to watch a never‑ending stream of content in order to accumulate rewards. While Roblox has not confirmed that the new rule was drafted solely because of that incident, the timing suggests a connection.
GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Roblox for clarification, and the company indicated that the rule applies broadly to any game that meets three specific criteria: 1. The experience presents a media feed to the player—this could be a scrolling list of short videos, a gallery of images, or a series of story‑style posts reminiscent of popular social‑media platforms.
2. The feed incorporates at least one of the following automatic behaviors: autoplay, a continuous replay loop, infinite scroll, or autoscroll.
3. The game ties a reward system to the consumption of that feed, meaning players must watch, or are led to believe they must watch, the content continuously in order to receive in‑game currency, items, or other benefits. Roblox emphasized that the rule is narrowly focused. It does not affect traditional rewarded video advertisements, which require a deliberate user action to start and are subject to strict rate‑limiting.
"Rewarded Video Ads are not impacted, as a user must actively initiate the ad and there are limits on how many ads a user can view," the company clarified. Developers whose titles are flagged will have the opportunity to modify their games to meet the new standards. Once changes are made, Roblox will re‑evaluate the games.
The company also noted that all other eligibility requirements for inclusion in the Kids and Select catalogs remain unchanged, and that the "Engaged Player" metric will not be reset for games that undergo revision. The policy rollout 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 protecting its younger users.
The Senate subcommittee's concerns add pressure on Roblox to demonstrate concrete steps toward safeguarding children from potentially exploitative design patterns. In a parallel move toward greater transparency, Roblox has 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, Roblox aims to foster collaboration with researchers and developers on improving AI‑driven moderation and safety mechanisms across the platform. The broader industry context underscores why Roblox's new rule matters. Many modern games, especially those aimed at younger audiences, incorporate endless‑scroll feeds that mirror the experience of popular social‑media apps. When these feeds are coupled with reward loops, they can create a persuasive design that nudges children to keep watching or interacting for the sake of in‑game gains.
Critics argue that such mechanics can blur the line between entertainment and subtle advertising, potentially leading to excessive screen time or exposure to content that parents might not approve. By explicitly banning the combination of infinite media feeds with reward incentives in its Kids and Select sections, Roblox is taking a stance that aligns with growing calls for responsible design in the gaming sector. The company’s clarification that the rule does not apply to standard rewarded ads—provided those ads require user initiation and are limited—helps maintain a revenue stream for developers while still protecting younger players from more insidious, automatically‑driven reward loops.
Developers now face a clear set of guidelines: if their game includes a scrolling video wall, an autoplay carousel, or any auto‑advancing content that is tied to a reward, they must either remove the reward tie‑in or redesign the feed to require explicit user interaction. This may involve adding a "watch to earn" button that the player must press each time, limiting the number of consecutive views, or eliminating the infinite scroll altogether. The enforcement timeline has not been disclosed, but Roblox's statement that it is "actively reviewing" suggests that the audit process will begin promptly. Games that fail to adapt risk losing visibility in the curated Kids and Select sections, which are crucial for reaching the platform's most protected demographic.
Overall, the new policy reflects Roblox's attempt to balance monetization opportunities for creators with the responsibility of shielding children from manipulative design practices. As the Senate investigation proceeds and the community watches how Roblox implements these changes, the outcome could set a precedent for how other platforms handle reward‑based media feeds in kid‑focused environments.