Roblox will require a paid subscription — plus ID checks — to publish games for kids

What’s changing

It has been reported that Roblox will roll out new publishing requirements on May 19 that tighten who can publish games available to younger players. Personal-use publishing remains untouched, but to reach users under 16 — the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select cohorts — creators will need to pass ID verification, enable two‑factor authentication, complete a facial age check, and hold an active Roblox Plus subscription, among other checks. Publishing to over‑16 audiences or “Trusted Friends” requires a lighter set of steps: an age check, a good‑standing account, and an account older than two days.

Why Roblox says it’s doing this

Roblox staff say the changes are meant to shore up safety and trust — both with parents and with regulators — by making it harder for bad actors to spin up abusive or spammy games. It has been reported that the company sees these measures as extensions of earlier steps that already reduced violating content, and that the evaluation process for all‑ages games will further filter problematic titles. Facial age estimation and ID verification are explicitly pitched as ways to ensure creators are real people, not throwaway accounts.

How creators are likely to react

So yes: you’ll now need to pay to publish to kids on Roblox. That’s the emotional hook here — small creators who built their first audiences for free may feel squeezed. Will a subscription gatekeep creativity or simply raise the bar on accountability? Good question. Some developers will shrug and pay; others will grumble that safety is being monetized. Expect lively debate in the DevForum AMA Roblox has scheduled for April 16, where staff will try to answer those exact concerns.

Practical notes

Group owners will need to meet the same eligibility checks for games published on behalf of groups, and eligibility is rechecked at each publish event. Roblox frames the move as proactive compliance — keeping the platform accessible worldwide by staying ahead of changing rules. Whether that buys peace of mind or creates new friction for indie creators remains to be seen.

Sources: roblox.com, Hacker News