Mature content comes to Roblox for users aged 17 and up

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A child looks back at a banner for Roblox, displayed to celebrate the company’s IPO, on the front facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, March 10, 2021.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Roblox on Tuesday announced eligible creators can build experiences featuring some mature content and storylines for users 17 and older.

The announcement comes after the company shared its “vision for all ages” in May, where Roblox said it will strive to include age-appropriate experiences for “every life stage” on its platform. People between the ages of 17 and 24 make up 22% of Roblox’s community, and the number of daily active users in this age group grew 35% year over year in the company’s first quarter.

As part of the new experiences announced Tuesday, older users will be able to view content that may contain some forms of violence, romantic themes, depictions of blood and alcohol, moderately crude humor and unplayable gambling.

Roblox previously supported experiences for users aged nine and up, users aged 13 and up and some with no age restrictions. The company said the new offerings for users aged 17 and up will become available to eligible users in the coming weeks.

Users will only be able to create or view the new content if they verify their age on Roblox by uploading both a selfie and a photo of their government-issued ID. Parents can also restrict their kids’ access to certain experiences through Roblox’s parental controls.

Shares of Roblox are up around 44% year to date, while the Nasdaq is up around 31% for the same period.