Roblox's aim of encouraging children to make games has been its key to success but is fraught with dangers, as some face stress, burnout, and exploitation
Young developers on the platform used by many millions of children claim they have been financially exploited, threatened with dismissal and sexually harassed Tweets: @simonparkin , @veenadubal , @upfromthecracks , @domiscius , @higgyc , @xiayurei , @mrasync , @braddwyer , @sub8u , and @hypervisible Tweets: Simon Parkin / @simonparkin : Roblox became the largest video game company in the world by encouraging children to become game-making entrepreneurs - a laudable aim, fraught with dangers. My story in today's @ObserverUK: https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Veena Dubal / @veenadubal : The trouble with Roblox, the video game empire built on child labour: “The game-makers scheduled a call with their young team and announced they were now making the children independent contractors with fixed salaries.” H/t @hypervisible https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Khadijah / @upfromthecracks : excellent excoriating essay on roblox from @SimonParkin. As my own autistic teenage goes through drug like withdrawls since i've banned him from roblox. I'd just like an addendum to the child labor angle on how it hyper targets neurodiverse kids for addiction. https://twitter.com/... @domiscius : Roblox doesn't exploit & wasn't built on child labour. It got successful from giving hobbyist game developers the ability to DevEx. Roblox doesn't force anyone to make games on their platform. If you work for someone abusive, report them. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Chris Higgins / @higgyc : wow, that Sonic game that an alleged groomer was still making money from actually got taken down! ...by a copyright claim from Sega who clearly didn't like the associated heat after the PMG investigation 😬 great job Roblox Corporation https://twitter.com/... @xiayurei : This whole narrative is nonsense. No contract = no obligation to work. On the other hand, you should never, ever take paid work without writing and signing a contract. These are standard practices for game developers and Roblox work is no different. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Brandon / @mrasync : Here we go again. Another wave of embellished articles filled with things that don't reflect what it's like to develop. Super annoying. https://twitter.com/... @braddwyer : How many billion dollar companies will be founded by entrepreneurs that got their start on Roblox as kids? Reminds me of the web dev forums I hung out on as a teenager — on a _much_ larger scale. It could end up being the greatest economic catalyst of the next decade. https://twitter.com/... Subrahmanyam Kvj / @sub8u : Good read on Roblox (terrible headline). The challenges of moderation, monetization, & game design multiply manifold when your primary audience is kids (over 50% of US kids have an a/c!). PSA: Steer away from algorithmic recos & chat options on kids apps https://www.theguardian.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... @hypervisible : Truly disturbing. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...