Roblox has rolled out a fresh set of guidelines aimed at shielding younger users from games that blend media feeds with reward systems on its Roblox Kids and Roblox Select environments. In a recent announcement posted to the company’s creator hub, the platform explained that the new policy targets any experience that mixes scrolling or autoplaying content with incentives that encourage continuous viewing. According to the statement, the rule applies specifically to games that combine any of the following elements: a media feed that presents short‑form videos, image carousels, or story‑style updates; a playback mechanic such as autoplay, infinite scroll, autoscroll, or a looping replay; and a reward structure that either explicitly requires or strongly suggests that players must keep watching the feed in order to earn in‑game benefits.
Roblox clarified that the policy is triggered only when a reward component is tied directly to an endless‑scroll or autoplay feature, meaning that a simple reward ad that a user voluntarily clicks on would not fall under the new restrictions. "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 company wrote. The enforcement language makes clear that developers will need to either adjust their game design to remove the offending combination of features or face removal from the child‑focused sections of the platform. The policy rollout follows a series of reports that a pet‑collecting simulator called **Steal an Egg** was taken offline after it was discovered to contain a mechanic that urged players to run on a virtual treadmill while a continuous stream of content played in the background.
Players could earn virtual rewards by simply staying on the treadmill and watching the endless feed, a design that raised concerns about exploiting children’s attention for monetisation. While Roblox has not officially confirmed that the Steal an Egg incident was the sole catalyst for the new rule, GamesIndustry.biz reached out to the company for clarification, and Roblox’s response indicated that the game would indeed be subject to removal under the new guidelines unless its developers re‑engineered the reward‑media loop. To help developers understand what is prohibited, Roblox listed three criteria that, when combined, place a game under the policy’s scope: 1. **Media Feed Presentation** – The experience must display a feed of short‑form videos, images, or story‑like content that resembles social‑media timelines.
2. **Autoplay or Infinite Scrolling Mechanics** – The feed must either automatically play content, continuously scroll without user input, or loop endlessly.
3. **Reward Dependency** – The game must attach a reward (such as in‑game currency, items, or progression boosts) to the act of watching or scrolling through the feed, or at least imply that continued consumption is necessary to obtain the reward. Roblox emphasized that traditional rewarded video advertisements are not impacted by this rule, as those ads require a deliberate user action to start and are subject to strict rate‑limiting controls that prevent excessive exposure. The distinction is important because rewarded ads remain a key revenue stream for many developers, and the platform wants to preserve that monetisation avenue while protecting younger players from more insidious, passive reward loops.
Developers whose games are flagged will be given the opportunity to modify their titles to meet the new standards. Once the changes are made, Roblox will re‑evaluate the games for compliance. The company also noted that all other qualifications for inclusion in Roblox Kids and Select – such as safety checks, content ratings, and the Engaged Player criteria – will remain unchanged, and developers will not lose any progress they have already earned toward those benchmarks. The policy announcement arrives amid heightened scrutiny of Roblox’s handling of child safety.
Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism launched an investigation into the platform, alleging that Roblox appears to prioritise revenue generation and engagement metrics over the wellbeing of its youngest users. The congressional probe underscores the growing regulatory pressure on tech companies to demonstrate robust safeguards for minors, especially in environments where in‑app purchases and ad‑driven incentives are commonplace. In a related move toward greater 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 broader research community, Roblox hopes to foster collaborative improvements in detecting and mitigating harmful content, thereby reinforcing its commitment to a safer ecosystem for all players. Overall, the new “reward‑driven media feed” policy signals Roblox’s intent to curb design patterns that could exploit children’s attention spans for profit. By drawing a clear line between permissible rewarded ads and prohibited endless‑scroll reward loops, the platform aims to balance the interests of developers with the imperative to protect its youngest audience. As the enforcement process unfolds, developers will need to audit their games for any features that match the outlined criteria and be prepared to adjust their designs accordingly to remain accessible within the Roblox Kids and Select catalogs.