{"slug": "roblox", "name": "Roblox", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 28, "warners": 17, "score": -10.781, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2025-11-09", "latest": "2026-10-08", "why": "What Roblox provides is a platform to upload experiences to with minimal risk or skill required", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 10, "compare": 1, "warn": 18}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "What Roblox provides is a platform to upload experiences to with minimal risk or skill required", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "roblox.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.roblox.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Roblox"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 757367456, "item_id": 47335466, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335466", "by": "bstsb", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "other platforms don't give you unlimited game servers, near-infinite scalability with no initial cost", "excerpt": "other platforms don't give you unlimited game servers, near-infinite scalability with no initial cost, a potential player base in the hundreds of millions, https://create.roblox.com/docs/get-started/why-build-on-roblox https://create.roblox.com/docs/get-started/tools", "context": "", "use_case": "game development and publishing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757362448, "item_id": 47335153, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335153", "by": "Heliodex", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "What Roblox provides is a platform to upload experiences to with minimal risk or skill required", "excerpt": "I suppose it could be considered steep for anyone making a multiplayer game while managing the hosting for themselves on a tight budget. Developers with strong knowledge of monetisation strategies can make good revenue streams from games with self-hosted or self-managed servers. Maybe these developers wouldn't be able to get the same amount of revenue if they used Roblox instead. What Roblox provides is a platform to", "context": "Smaller Roblox creator", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 736771280, "item_id": 46048205, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46048205", "by": "ryanjshaw", "date": "2025-11-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we have lots of fun", "excerpt": "I play Roblox with my daughter from time to time and we have lots of fun. I\u2019ve explained the dangers to her (strangers messaging, gambling style games, etc), and I see it as an opportunity to teach her while she still listens to me. When she\u2019s older and I\u2019m not privy to everything she does on a computer I don\u2019t want her stumbling across these things uninformed. A portion of her pocket money goes to Robux, which she s", "context": "parent of a young daughter", "use_case": "Playing with daughter", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 800014304, "item_id": 50000894, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50000894", "by": "autoexec", "date": "2026-10-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "What they love is the rush they get from feeding the gambling addiction the Roblox Child Casino was carefully designed to develop in them.", "excerpt": "It's not that kids actually love the lazy derivative games on Roblox. What they love is the rush they get from feeding the gambling addiction the Roblox Child Casino was carefully designed to develop in them. Cheap games on Google Playground won't be nearly as attractive to kids unless Google also fills it with anti-features like push notifications to nag children into getting another fix when they start having fun o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Playground: Create and play custom games"}, {"id": 799463170, "item_id": 49966448, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49966448", "by": "martythemaniak", "date": "2026-10-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Roblox creates a kids casino, but if you as the parent want a safer, saner experience for your kid you have to navigate endless settings", "excerpt": "I hosted a party for some friends and their families yesterday and this also came up, particularly in regards to Roblox. It is possible to tune Roblox and make it safe for your kid, but is is a lot of work. Fundamentally, tech companies are user-hostile because their growth, revenue, stock price, (and for some of them now, political power) depend on a shitty experience. Every tech company wants to automate other comp", "context": "parent", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"I'm Embarrassed on Behalf of the Tech Industry\""}, {"id": 782553456, "item_id": 48909591, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48909591", "by": "a2128", "date": "2026-07-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "they have a horrible system where they estimate your age", "excerpt": "In the case of Roblox they have a horrible system where they estimate your age and only allow you to interact with people of a similar age, meaning if you verified your kid with your face then they'd only be able to interact with adults and not other kids. At least that's the theory. It doesn't take a lot of effort to figure out how a predator could misuse this system to their advantage (which is why I call it horrib", "context": "", "use_case": "Online game platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "European \"age verification\" \"app\" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS"}, {"id": 767872208, "item_id": 47992013, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47992013", "by": "subscribed", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This sucks big time", "excerpt": "I can play with my kids but we're not allowed to talk. They're not allowed to talk with each other as well. This sucks big time, and it will even more, because we soon won't be aple to play together at all: https://thenextweb.com/news/roblox-age-gated-account-tiers-kids-select-child-safety", "context": "", "use_case": "playing with kids", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings"}]}], "who": [{"by": "rb2026", "context": "Roblox game developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47762965", "date": "2026-04-14"}, {"by": "Heliodex", "context": "Smaller Roblox creator", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335153", "date": "2026-03-11"}, {"by": "ryanjshaw", "context": "parent of a young daughter", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46048205", "date": "2025-11-25"}, {"by": "bstsb", "context": "has earned money from Roblox", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047837", "date": "2025-11-25"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["building games", "online game platform", "playing with kids", "game development", "game development and publishing", "free online game platform"], "compared": [{"slug": "minecraft", "name": "Minecraft", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "fortnite", "name": "Fortnite", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "blender", "name": "Blender", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47293337", "title": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires", "mentions": 9}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47761825", "title": "Roblox devs now need a subscription to share their games freely", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047229", "title": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988261", "title": "Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46617808", "title": "Epic fined \u20ac1.1M over manipulating children through in app purchases", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45985799", "title": "Roblox Requires Age Checks for Communication, Ushering in New Safety Standard", "mentions": 2}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"warn": 5, "neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {"warn": 1}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 3, "recommend": 1, "warn": 4}, "2026-04": {"warn": 2, "neutral": 2}, "2026-05": {"warn": 2}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 800014304, "item_id": 50000894, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50000894", "by": "autoexec", "date": "2026-10-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "What they love is the rush they get from feeding the gambling addiction the Roblox Child Casino was carefully designed to develop in them.", "excerpt": "It's not that kids actually love the lazy derivative games on Roblox. What they love is the rush they get from feeding the gambling addiction the Roblox Child Casino was carefully designed to develop in them. Cheap games on Google Playground won't be nearly as attractive to kids unless Google also fills it with anti-features like push notifications to nag children into getting another fix when they start having fun o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Playground: Create and play custom games"}, {"id": 799463170, "item_id": 49966448, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49966448", "by": "martythemaniak", "date": "2026-10-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Roblox creates a kids casino, but if you as the parent want a safer, saner experience for your kid you have to navigate endless settings", "excerpt": "I hosted a party for some friends and their families yesterday and this also came up, particularly in regards to Roblox. It is possible to tune Roblox and make it safe for your kid, but is is a lot of work. Fundamentally, tech companies are user-hostile because their growth, revenue, stock price, (and for some of them now, political power) depend on a shitty experience. Every tech company wants to automate other comp", "context": "parent", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\"I'm Embarrassed on Behalf of the Tech Industry\""}, {"id": 799154770, "item_id": 49947173, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49947173", "by": "Animats", "date": "2026-10-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Roblox is probably the only other serious US player working on this.", "excerpt": "It's quite possible to do all that. Most AAA titles do by now. But creating all that detailed content at multiple levels of detail is a big job. GTA VI cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion to produce. When you do those big zooms, vast amounts of data has to be shuttled in and out of the GPU. VRAM is too expensive to keep it all live. There are some other current problems. GPU prices have not come down. If you wan", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "City building games have a Soul Problem pt.2"}, {"id": 788058065, "item_id": 49253629, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49253629", "by": "iceblox", "date": "2026-08-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Roblox has no native Linux client", "excerpt": "I've been building iceblox, a linux runtime that runs Roblox extraordinarily well on Linux, and on the old and cheap PCs (blazing fast on new). Roblox has no native Linux client, and the usual community workarounds quietly assume a fairly modern machine. If you're on something older or low-end, you're mostly out of luck. My children use 14 year old pc's. We did use Sober, however recently support for non AVX CPU's wa", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (August 2026)"}, {"id": 785483904, "item_id": 49092744, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49092744", "by": "starlineventure", "date": "2026-07-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "starting with Roblox", "excerpt": "Ive actually started trying to build games, starting with Roblox, to eventually build a catalog for this same problem. 1:1 learning in the future is probably going to be 80 - 90% gamified because people like playing games. Spent the last 6 months traveling Asia and everybody was playing games on their phones...everywhere. The first game I released is Math Cadet, basically an adventure game to build up math skills for", "context": "", "use_case": "Building games", "switched_from": "", "story": "LearnVector \u2013 Andrew Ng's AI company building one\u2011to\u2011one learning experiences"}, {"id": 782553456, "item_id": 48909591, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48909591", "by": "a2128", "date": "2026-07-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "they have a horrible system where they estimate your age", "excerpt": "In the case of Roblox they have a horrible system where they estimate your age and only allow you to interact with people of a similar age, meaning if you verified your kid with your face then they'd only be able to interact with adults and not other kids. At least that's the theory. It doesn't take a lot of effort to figure out how a predator could misuse this system to their advantage (which is why I call it horrib", "context": "", "use_case": "Online game platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "European \"age verification\" \"app\" forcing everyone to use Android or iOS"}, {"id": 767872208, "item_id": 47992013, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47992013", "by": "subscribed", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This sucks big time", "excerpt": "I can play with my kids but we're not allowed to talk. They're not allowed to talk with each other as well. This sucks big time, and it will even more, because we soon won't be aple to play together at all: https://thenextweb.com/news/roblox-age-gated-account-tiers-kids-select-child-safety", "context": "", "use_case": "playing with kids", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings"}, {"id": 767828272, "item_id": 47989267, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47989267", "by": "JumpCrisscross", "date": "2026-05-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids", "excerpt": "Hindenberg's 2024 report titled \"Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids\": https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings"}, {"id": 764219680, "item_id": 47763730, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763730", "by": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "many people around me or online really really love roblox", "excerpt": "I am 17, I wasn't really a roblox player aside from playing with one of my friends once or twice[0] (more of a minecraft enthusiast) but I know or can tell there are sizable amount of people online who have only played roblox, some even started because of it under age of 16 and learnt to code because of it. My point is, many people around me or online really really love roblox and they even start to code because of i", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox devs now need a subscription to share their games freely"}, {"id": 764209920, "item_id": 47763120, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763120", "by": "throwatdem12311", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is ZERO chance I\u2019m doing ID verification or paying a subscription.", "excerpt": "My 6 year old likes to make basic obstacle course games and I help him with the coding. There is ZERO chance I\u2019m doing ID verification or paying a subscription. The entire reason we liked this platform was there was barely any friction. I will be checking out S&box by the creator of Garry\u2019s mod as an alternative: https://sbox.game/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox devs now need a subscription to share their games freely"}, {"id": 764207440, "item_id": 47762965, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47762965", "by": "rb2026", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I'm dev games on Roblox.", "excerpt": "\"Good standing\" means your account wasn't moderated for violating the community standards [1] (exploiting, saying bad words, threatening users, uploading illicit content, etc). I'm dev games on Roblox. Trust me, you're the one confused here. [1] https://about.roblox.com/community-standards", "context": "Roblox game developer", "use_case": "Game development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox devs now need a subscription to share their games freely"}, {"id": 764196272, "item_id": 47762267, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47762267", "by": "demaga", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "", "excerpt": "Wow they reached Stage 3 of enshittification[1] real quick. Now the slow and painful death begins. [1] https://storage02.forbrukerradet.no/media/2026/02/breaking-free-pathways-to-a-fair-technological-future.pdf", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox devs now need a subscription to share their games freely"}, {"id": 760677568, "item_id": 47542348, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47542348", "by": "foobarian", "date": "2026-03-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Robloxhead daughter to test drive some of the games I play on my 5090 box", "excerpt": "I love it when I get my Robloxhead daughter to test drive some of the games I play on my 5090 box. \"Ooooh these graphics are unreal\" \"Can we stop for just a moment and admire this grass\" :-D", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hold on to Your Hardware"}, {"id": 760256880, "item_id": 47516055, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47516055", "by": "gambiting", "date": "2026-03-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Because it's a big problem that they are generally not interested in truly solving", "excerpt": "Because it's a big problem that they are generally not interested in truly solving https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/ To quote just a section of the report: Core to the problem is that Roblox\u2019s social media features allow pedophiles to efficiently target hundreds of children, with no up-front screening to prevent them from joining the platform. For example, in 2018, prior to Roblox going public, a 29-year-old was", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Today's Layoffs"}, {"id": 758158928, "item_id": 47384933, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47384933", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-03-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "a lot of apps (e.g. Roblox, YouTube Shorts) are made to be as addictive as crack", "excerpt": "Controlling what children do online is a solved problem: Parenting and parental control applications. Spoken as someone who probably hasn't used iOS/Mac parental controls. It is a hot buggy mess that randomly blocks whitelisted applications as well. We use it, but it is a constant pain. Also a lot of applications only work half, e.g., TV apps blocking off all content rather than only content that is not age-appropria", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ageless Linux. We are legally required to ask how old you are. We won't"}, {"id": 757643136, "item_id": 47352696, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47352696", "by": "Heliodex", "date": "2026-03-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I don't have any reason to believe this is a bad state of affairs", "excerpt": "> I was being sarcastic with my how ridiculous post. I see. I apologise for failing to pick that up. > There is no single exchange rate between dollars and Roblox on a platform > Meanwhile an account with 6k Roblox at time of purchase may have been filled by some gift cards and some App Store purchases at different ratios over time while the user is spending money on the platform meaning that 6k doesn\u2019t actually corr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757518816, "item_id": 47344926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47344926", "by": "Retric", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I can\u2019t help but wonder what the actual numbers look like if such a lopsided deal is still presented with such weasel wording.", "excerpt": "I was being sarcastic with my how ridiculous post. > mistakes if you see any https://create.roblox.com/docs/monetize-experiences First no mention of the float between purchase of Roblox and transactions, but whatever platforms regularly pull that one. As to Hollywood accounting. There is no single exchange rate between dollars and Roblox on a platform, a 5$ purchase = 5:4 on App Store, but a 100$ purchase is a 1:1. h", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757513216, "item_id": 47344576, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47344576", "by": "Heliodex", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "so in the grander scheme 12% isn't even that ridiculous", "excerpt": "> How ridiculous The default app store cut for most other platforms (Google Play, Apple App Store) that Roblox operates on is 30% (and similar for other distribution platforms, such as Steam), so in the grander scheme 12% isn't even that ridiculous. Including payment processing fees, this averages out to the 22% mentioned at <https://create.roblox.com/docs/monetize-experiences> for all of Roblox's sales. > 1 / 0.7 = ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757472288, "item_id": 47342018, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47342018", "by": "Heliodex", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Roblox publishes monthly updates on their safety status", "excerpt": "> What are you, their PR agent? To clarify, no <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47334849>. I don't have any affiliation with Roblox Corporation, and I hope this will be able to make clear to you that my intention is to debate this matter in good faith. > It doesn't really matter if you agree that it does. It is a fact that it does. This isn't particularly constructive. Roblox publishes monthly updates on their s", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757367456, "item_id": 47335466, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335466", "by": "bstsb", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "other platforms don't give you unlimited game servers, near-infinite scalability with no initial cost", "excerpt": "other platforms don't give you unlimited game servers, near-infinite scalability with no initial cost, a potential player base in the hundreds of millions, https://create.roblox.com/docs/get-started/why-build-on-roblox https://create.roblox.com/docs/get-started/tools", "context": "", "use_case": "game development and publishing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757362512, "item_id": 47335157, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335157", "by": "nananana9", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Suing multiple youtubers who come to you with evidence of child abuse on your platform does not square with \"they do\"", "excerpt": "1. Kids under 9 can use chat with parent consent, for kids over 9 don't even need that. After 13, there's no option to even disable it for parents [1]. 2. Suing multiple youtubers who come to you with evidence of child abuse on your platform does not square with \"they do\" in any concievable universe [2] [3] 3. Oh, guess all is good then! [1] https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/43611824582292-How-to-Chat-on-R", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757362448, "item_id": 47335153, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47335153", "by": "Heliodex", "date": "2026-03-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "What Roblox provides is a platform to upload experiences to with minimal risk or skill required", "excerpt": "I suppose it could be considered steep for anyone making a multiplayer game while managing the hosting for themselves on a tight budget. Developers with strong knowledge of monetisation strategies can make good revenue streams from games with self-hosted or self-managed servers. Maybe these developers wouldn't be able to get the same amount of revenue if they used Roblox instead. What Roblox provides is a platform to", "context": "Smaller Roblox creator", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757264480, "item_id": 47329030, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47329030", "by": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2026-03-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Some of it has to do with roblox being free.", "excerpt": "Some of it has to do with roblox being free. (I don't have a minecraft account) but Trust me when I say this but within developing countries especially. You can find 3-4 people out of 1 who plays on hypixel but can't because they can't pay for the game usually when we are really young which is also roblox's most major userbase. I can imagine Hypixel being atleast 2x and a rough estimate of 5x more the size if they su", "context": "", "use_case": "free online game platform", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 757262273, "item_id": 47328892, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47328892", "by": "bstsb", "date": "2026-03-10", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Roblox BedWars averages 36K on weekends", "excerpt": "these days, Roblox BedWars averages 36K on weekends: https://romonitorstats.com/experience/6872265039/ however, Hypixel seems to have overtaken it! last Saturday, it peaked at 39,000 concurrent players. i prefer the original gamemode anyway", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires"}, {"id": 745898593, "item_id": 46618662, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618662", "by": "basketbla", "date": "2026-01-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "truly god-awful pay to win gambling-filled landscape of Roblox", "excerpt": "Weirdly I agree. After seeing the truly god-awful pay to win gambling-filled landscape of Roblox, Fortnite feels pretty tame and respectful. V bucks aren't shoved down your throat, the battle passes are pretty transparent about what you get, and the whole cosmetics store feels less lootbox-heavy than a lot of games. Edit: ope literally just saw this in another comment, whoops: https://www.ign.com/articles/as-fortnite", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Epic fined \u20ac1.1M over manipulating children through in app purchases"}, {"id": 745898305, "item_id": 46618644, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618644", "by": "jsheard", "date": "2026-01-14", "stance": "compare", "quote": "Fortnite's user-created modes are essentially an attempt to compete with Roblox", "excerpt": "Speaking of evil dark-patterned business practices, Epic just recently U-turned on lootboxes again. Fortnite did have them originally, but pivoted to the less egregious FOMO sales funnel around when it got really popular, except now they've backtracked by allowing pay-to-win and lootbox mechanics in user-created game modes. https://www.ign.com/articles/as-fortnite-enables-third-party-microtransactions-steal-the-brain", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Epic fined \u20ac1.1M over manipulating children through in app purchases"}, {"id": 739614480, "item_id": 46225905, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46225905", "by": "orwin", "date": "2025-12-10", "stance": "warn", "quote": "gambling of digital assets on Roblox and other casino-like website", "excerpt": "I think sadly, this is a lost battle in public opinion. And the gambling of digital assets on Roblox and other casino-like website is also starting to get public attention, and will turn public opinion further. The CNIL gave up 3 years ago, and gave guidelines, you can read about it here [0]. At the time it read like \"How well, we tried, we said it is incompatible with privacy and the GDPR multiple times, we insist o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "EFF launches Age Verification Hub"}, {"id": 736802160, "item_id": 46050135, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46050135", "by": "zzzeek", "date": "2025-11-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "there would not be a Roblox without effective moderation", "excerpt": "A correctly manufactured chainsaw can be used safely by adults. Products like \"MoonSoll and Magic Chems Fuel Bottles\" [1], \"Tesla Powerwall 2 AC Battery Power Systems\" [2] and literally tens of thousands of other products listed at [3] have been determined that they can not be used safely by adults, and are literally taken off store shelves until the issues can be resolved. It is a normal, everyday occurrence that ma", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse"}, {"id": 736771280, "item_id": 46048205, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46048205", "by": "ryanjshaw", "date": "2025-11-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we have lots of fun", "excerpt": "I play Roblox with my daughter from time to time and we have lots of fun. I\u2019ve explained the dangers to her (strangers messaging, gambling style games, etc), and I see it as an opportunity to teach her while she still listens to me. When she\u2019s older and I\u2019m not privy to everything she does on a computer I don\u2019t want her stumbling across these things uninformed. A portion of her pocket money goes to Robux, which she s", "context": "parent of a young daughter", "use_case": "Playing with daughter", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse"}, {"id": 736765889, "item_id": 46047868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047868", "by": "mock-possum", "date": "2025-11-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "just another surface for predators to access underage targets", "excerpt": "just another surface for predators to access underage targets. I guess one thing with Minecraft specifically is there\u2019s a veneer of positive / educational content to smuggle that access beneath - schools have lessons that include Minecraft play, you don\u2019t get that with Fortnite or Roblox, so it seems more \u2018innocent.\u2019 Fortnite is about killing eachother, Roblox is about literally anything, Minecraft is about\u2026 well, mi", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse"}, {"id": 736765392, "item_id": 46047837, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047837", "by": "bstsb", "date": "2025-11-25", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "slightly biased as i've made USD from Roblox", "excerpt": "disclaimer: slightly biased as i've made USD from Roblox it's really interesting to me seeing the debate around age verification from both sides. many Roblox developers and users seems to think that it's the end of the platform: > Awesome! We love mandatory identity checks and age verification on every major social platform. Nobody needs privacy online. Thank you Roblox. > No just no. This won\u2019t work, this is too enf", "context": "has earned money from Roblox", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox is a problem but it's a symptom of something worse"}, {"id": 736658048, "item_id": 46041128, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46041128", "by": "saghm", "date": "2025-11-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Roblox, maybe?", "excerpt": "Roblox, maybe? They do have scripting, but I have no clue if it's something kids do or not https://create.roblox.com/docs/tutorials/use-case-tutorials/scripting/basic-scripting/intro-to-scripting", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Neopets.com changed my life (2019)"}, {"id": 736221216, "item_id": 46013826, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46013826", "by": "viraptor", "date": "2025-11-22", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Oh it keeps getting better...", "excerpt": "Oh it keeps getting better... https://kotaku.com/roblox-new-york-times-interview-baszucki-2000646174 Tell me they care...", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Requires Age Checks for Communication, Ushering in New Safety Standard"}, {"id": 735789568, "item_id": 45986848, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45986848", "by": "gambiting", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Following years of scandals, we performed our own checks to see if the platform had cleaned up its act.", "excerpt": "Does that help with any of this? https://hindenburgresearch.com/roblox/ \"Following years of scandals, we performed our own checks to see if the platform had cleaned up its act. As a test, we attempted to set up an account under the name \u2018Jeffrey Epstein\u2019\u2026only to see the name was taken, along with 900+ variations. Many were Jeffrey Epstein fan accounts, including \u201cJeffEpsteinSupporter\u201d which had earned multiple badges", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Requires Age Checks for Communication, Ushering in New Safety Standard"}, {"id": 733923490, "item_id": 45870218, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45870218", "by": "rpdillon", "date": "2025-11-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I also vetoed Roblox", "excerpt": "I'm proud of my decisions and I'm not here to defend them. I'm here for the conversation because I'm interested in the topic. I vetoed Minecraft and replaced it with MineTest because Minecraft has the hypixel community, which is essentially an MMO that's built inside of the world of Minecraft and dominates the Minecraft playerbase. I was worried that my 11-year-old would be too young to deal with a massively multipla", "context": "parent of an 11-year-old", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: How would you set up a child\u2019s first Linux computer?"}]}