Observed Signal · Apr 13, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Roblox launches Kids and Select accounts for age-based access
Roblox announced new account types — Roblox Kids (ages 5–9), Roblox Select (ages 9–15) and standard accounts (16+) — that use the company’s mandatory age-check technology to assign users and limit chat and game access based on age. The changes, rolling out globally at the beginning of June, restrict younger users to games with lower maturity ratings and disable chat by default for children under nine unless parents approve specific contacts. Games available to Kids and Select accounts must pass a three-step screening process (developer verification, real-time evaluation by 16+ players, and multimodal moderation plus gameplay criteria). Roblox also launched a new Roblox Plus subscription ($4.99/month); Roblox Premium will stop accepting new sign-ups when Roblox Plus launches on April 30. The move follows legal pressure and lawsuits over child safety on the platform.
Roblox’s account-level segmentation and stricter screening change content availability and moderation on a major gaming/social platform, affecting brand-safety, audience targeting and in-game inventory for advertisers and developers.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Roblox will assign users aged 5–9 to 'Roblox Kids' accounts, ages 9–15 to 'Roblox Select', and users 16+ to standard accounts; only users 18+ can access 'Restricted Content'.
- The account assignments use the age-check technology Roblox made mandatory in January for users who want chat access.
- Roblox Kids and Select accounts will include only games that pass a three-step screening: developer verification, real-time evaluation by users 16+, and multimodal moderation plus gameplay criteria.
- The new accounts will roll out globally at the beginning of June; existing users will be given a transition period to complete age checks.
- Roblox Plus subscription launched at $4.99/month; Roblox Premium will stop accepting new sign-ups when Roblox Plus launches on April 30.
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Roblox Allows Ads to Under-13 Users via SuperAwesome
Roblox is opening its under-13 audience to advertisers for the first time, partnering exclusively with youth-focused ad marketplace SuperAwesome. The rollout is tightly controlled: under-13 ads will be sold via direct deals only (no programmatic), limited to banner placements on the home screen and select in-game billboards (static and video), and clearly labeled. Targeting will be contextual and based on generalized demographics (country, gender, age range) with no one-to-one personalized profiling, to comply with COPPA and GDPR. SuperAwesome will supply global infrastructure, taxonomy and brand-safety/suitability controls (working alongside DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science). Roblox will share ad revenue with game publishers and will keep branded game experiences separate from the ad inventory. Roblox cited recent age-verification and new user tiers (Roblox Kids; Roblox Select) as enablers. The company also continues to face multiple child-safety lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny.
Two lawsuits accuse Roblox of failing to protect girls
Two separate lawsuits have been filed against Roblox in the US District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that adult predators used the platform to groom two teenage girls. The complaints, filed by the law firm Anapol Weiss, involve an 18-year-old plaintiff from Oregon who says she was groomed from age 8 and a 16-year-old plaintiff from Louisiana who says she was groomed at age 14; the Louisiana suit alleges grooming occurred via Roblox and Snapchat and that an in-person meeting was attempted. The filings follow advocacy groups asking the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate Roblox over child-safety concerns. Roblox recently introduced stricter age-based account types and parental controls.
Roblox Loses Bid to Halt LA Child Safety Lawsuit
A Los Angeles County lawsuit against Roblox, alleging failure to protect minors from online predators and sexual exploitation, will proceed after a judge rejected Roblox's motion to dismiss. The court ruled that Section 230 and First Amendment protections do not shield Roblox's age verification practices. Roblox has implemented nationwide safety changes including facial age checks and age-based accounts, and has settled investigations in multiple states for over $30 million. Similar legal actions have been filed by Arkansas against Roblox and Discord.
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