Roblox Updates Age Verification and Global Rating Standards

Roblox is rolling out a significant update to its safety infrastructure, confirming plans to expand its AI-based age-estimation technology to all users by the end of the year. The move, announced Wednesday, is part of a broader effort to modernize how the platform manages user identity and content suitability.

The company confirmed it will integrate this technology into its communication suite, covering both voice and text-based interactions. The system functions by scanning user-provided selfies to analyze facial features, providing a more reliable age metric than the self-reported birth years previously used during account creation.

Beyond verifying user identity, Roblox is standardizing how games and apps are labeled across its platform through a new partnership with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). This transition replaces internal maturity labels with recognized regional standards, including:

• ESRB for users in the United States.
• PEGI for the United Kingdom and Europe.
• USK for players in Germany.
• GRAC for the Republic of Korea.

These labels are designed to offer parents greater transparency regarding game content, highlighting factors such as simulated violence, gambling, mature language, or the presence of blood and gore. This initiative builds upon safety measures introduced in July, which restricted unfiltered chat access for users under 13 and limited how minors aged 13 to 17 can add “trusted connections.”

“Roblox is committed to creating a safe platform for our users and empowering parents to make the best decision for their children,” said Matt Kaufman, chief safety officer at Roblox. “We’re excited to partner with IARC and hope it will provide parents globally with more clarity and confidence regarding age-appropriate content.”

These operational shifts arrive as the company faces increasing pressure from regulators and the legal system. Attorneys general, including Louisiana’s Liz Murrill, have filed lawsuits in states like California, Texas, and Pennsylvania alleging the platform fails to protect children from predators. Additionally, various regions are implementing stricter age-assurance laws, such as the U.K.’s Online Safety Act and similar legislative efforts in Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Virginia.

While the company continues to deploy tools like the open-source AI Roblox Sentinel to detect child endangerment signals, it remains under scrutiny. Independent research and reports—including concerns over predatory monetization in titles like Grow a Garden—have highlighted the ongoing challenges the platform faces in policing user interactions and virtual economies.