As a Roblox developer, it is currently too hard to disable Roblox premium payouts; without forcing my game into Paid Access (there are some edge cases where this doesn’t even apply)
If Roblox is able to address this issue, it would improve my development experience because it means I can simply opt-out irrespective of the reasons someone may have.
Some users may wish to opt out of such a program for various main reasons; some immediate cases are:
There is a legal reason in relation to the licence they hold; they cannot make it commercial and Roblox forces them with this lack of option
Users who disagree with the program and just doesn’t want to want that money for whatever reason.
Users just don’t want to make money off the game, without respect to any legal issues.
A simple tick box is enough of a solution. Opt out not opt in
The issue is that Robux is considered a real currency since the ability exists to cash out. Even if you just make robux and don’t intend on cashing out ever you are still making “money”
DevEx is a program that allows certain Roblox users to exchange earned Robux for real currency, as more fully described below.
Additionally, back in February the IRS clarified that Robux and V-Bux don’t even meet the criteria for “virtual currency” so the claim that they’re a “real currency” seems unlikely.
While Robux is a virtual currency, doesn’t have an equivalent value in real currency (except as through the DevEx program); act as a substitute for real currency; or earn interest; according to Roblox itself. I don’t think this necessarily changes the entire point of the change and only hurts one the use cases, even if the risk is purely reducing the legal risk presented from what may be perceived as violation of IP.
While Roblox as a platform is extremely commerinal in the underlying structure, it would depend deeply on the wording in the relevant licenses to how it may affect a relevant developer; in some cases the removal of UGC avatars would be required but I don’t think this really hurts the overall intent and meaning behind the post.
Agreed, this is the only form of monetization out there that doesn’t need the developer’s consent to activate. Everything else, like developer products, gamepasses, private servers, paid access, etc. Is completely optional.
It’s a way of monetization that you don’t get to decide.
It should be turned on by default, but there should be an option to disable it for specific games.
I’d also give a warning pop-up, like “Warning- you’re about to disable Premium Payouts, are you sure?” Developers may accidentally turn it off it doesn’t have a warning, and may not find out until it’s too late.
First question you might be asking, is why would you want to do this?
Well, the answer is, with the current Premium Payouts system, it’s impossible to have a game that uses CC-BY-NC assets and follows those terms, as you’ll always be making money on the game, regardless as to whether or not you monetize it. This poses an issue for developers who have permission to use assets in a non-commercial way.
My proposal would be an option under game settings that would allow the developer to turn off Premium Payouts for a specific game.