Roblox replaces the word “game” with “experience” on its website, after Apple argued at the Epic trial that Roblox developers don't make games
The word ‘game’ has been replaced by ‘experience’ across Roblox's website — Massively popular game creation tool Roblox …
The VergeAdi Robertson
Context & Ripple Effects
At the Epic antitrust trial, Apple argued that Roblox developers don't make games — a framing that matters because it supports Apple's claim that its 30% cut applies beyond a narrow 'game' category. Roblox's answer was immediate and sitewide: every 'game' became an 'experience', recategorizing its entire creator economy out of the label Apple used against it.
First-order effects
Roblox's creators and players see a renamed storefront overnight, while Apple loses the specific example — 'Roblox developers don't make games' — it relied on at the trial to argue its commission covers more than games.
Second-order effects
The rename drew regulator attention rather than ending the debate: the US DOJ later asked Roblox directly why it changed 'games' to 'experiences' and pressed both sides to clarify the difference, turning a marketing tweak into a legal question about how app-store categories are defined.
Third-order effects
If platforms keep relabeling content to dodge commission or regulatory definitions, the 'what counts as a game' boundary becomes a contested legal line that regulators — not platform marketing — will increasingly have to draw.
The trend: Platform businesses are renaming their content categories to manage how app-store gatekeepers and regulators classify them, making terminology itself a competitive weapon.
This is genuinely hilarious. The Chad Apple is trying to argue to the Boomer court system that a video game that got special privileges on the App store from them, is actually just an “experience”. Almost as funny as EA arguing “loot boxes” are actually “surprise mechanics”. http…
@chadtroutwine
Chad Troutwine on x
@ballmatthew Who thought this would go unnoticed? The likeliest scenario, “Apple looks awful but prevails” is veering into “Epic wins outright” territory. https://twitter.com/...
@zhugeex
Daniel Ahmad on x
When you really gotta justify that 30% https://twitter.com/...
@ballmatthew
Matthew Ball on x
3/ This is cray https://twitter.com/...
@campster
Chris Franklin on x
Things I did not foresee but should have: multiple massive conglomerates getting into the “what is a game?” debate in an effort to preserve their rent seeking platforms https://twitter.com/...
@bryantchappel
Bryant Chappel on x
Hey @GoogleStadia we found your loop hole. “A cloud experience platform” https://twitter.com/...
@taylorbhurst
Taylor Hurst on x
@ballmatthew Here are all of the changes I've seen recorded so far: Games -> Experiences Continue Playing -> Continue Friends Playing -> Friends Visiting Games (as a label at the top) -> Discover Join Game -> Join Playing -> Active
@alexeheath
Alex Heath on x
https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@felipepepe
Felipe Pepe on x
Roblox has 32 million DAILY users. The games it offers are more popular than most AAA franchises. Now they aren't legally games anymore. Yet, even before, they were never part of the “video game canon” on games media. Industry reporting is just as ridiculous as this lawsuit :P ht…
@backlon
Dieter Bohn on x
Totally very normal thing for a developer to completely change the language and marketing of a vital part of their app (ahem game?) as a result of testimony in a trial they are not a participant in. Yup. Nothing weird here. https://www.theverge.com/...
@antumbral
Katelyn Gadd on x
Apple doesn't even have to make threats or policy changes anymore to get developers to make huge panic changes, just hints https://twitter.com/...
@bzamayo
Benjamin Mayo on x
@verge App Store editors: https://twitter.com/...
@kyntosis
@kyntosis on x
@bzamayo @verge Roblox isn't just one experience - it's a whole universe of experiences, with near infinite opportunities to build, roam- there fixed it
@fanbytemedia
Fanbyte on x
To be fair to Epic, Roblox is absolutely a games distributor. This whole thing has been hilarious tbh. https://twitter.com/...
@rjonesy
Ryan Jones on x
Omg. Roblox is editing their website, after Apple had to argue in court that Roblox doesn't sell “games”... https://twitter.com/...
@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson on x
The most random fallout of this trial so far: Roblox ctrl-f'd “games” with “experiences” all over its service, after Apple made a huge deal out of how it's allowed on the App Store because its developers don't make games https://www.theverge.com/...