Introducing the Free Private Servers Sort

[InceptionTime]

Hey Developers,

We’ve added a new sort called “Free Private Servers” to the Discover page to showcase experiences that allow players to engage in activities they would do in their daily lives such as visiting theatres and parks, going shopping, etc.

The idea behind the sort is to bring friends, families, schools, etc. together in digital reality and to provide a way for everyone to stay connected during these difficult times.

The sort will be positioned on the third row, above new the Learn & Explore Sort and the order of the games will be randomized so it is fair to everyone.

We have worked with each of the developers whose games are already on the sort to set their Private Server price to free, so we’d like to give a very big thank you to them!

Sort Criteria:

• Game must contain activities people would do in their daily lives
• Game must have at least 50 daily active players
• Game must have a like ratio above 50%
• Game Private Server must be set to free

Sort Rotations:

• Every 2 weeks

If your game fits the criteria and you’re willing to reduce your Private Server price to free (this will cancel all your currently active Private Servers) for this sort, or you know of games that do, please take some time to fill out our submission form:

Special Sorts

If your game is accepted into the sort, you should expect to hear back from us within 3 weeks from the time you submitted the game.

Thanks,
Developer Relations

[ScytheSlayin (akorn)]

this is kinda cool ngl

@InceptionTime

The idea behind the sort is to bring friends, families, schools, etc. together in digital reality and to provide a way for everyone to stay connected during these difficult times.

Great idea! Time to introduce my whole family to roblox.
“hey guys do you want to go outside but in roblox”

roblox prom when

[TheCarbyneUniverse (Carbyne)]

That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to find some sort of game that models some aspect of real-life (especially when stuck indoors), but they didn’t get much exposure before.

Now, they will be like books sitting there on the third shelf ready for me to pick them up! Not only that, but the front page also gets a little more diversity which is always a plus.

Good addition.

[Whimzer]

I love this new update, as it will not only allow users to replicate their daily life virtually, but it will also support some genres that do not gain as much traction.
I currently own a roblox group known as Chicken Shack, and I will definently look into getting our game on the sort.
A few questions I have in mind:
Are we required to have VIP servers enabled?
Are there any sort of requirements in terms of average player count or total visits.

I really do think that this new sort will be a great addition to the many current sorts already displayed on Roblox.
Hoping to see some more cool updates coming from you guys!

[InvictusHolder]

COVID-19 can’t stop me now

Anyways, I greatly appreciate this Update onto the games page! Updates like these will show diversity in what the community of ROBLOX creates, and gives more users a chance to show off their work.

[poopitysocks]

This is amazing!

Thank you for bringing this amazing feature, even tho It will be easier to find games to roleplay with friends!

Thank you

[IAmPinleon (Pinleon)]

This is an awesome feature, especially in these times where we can’t hang out with anyone. Great job bringing the community together!

[colbert2677 (ImagineerColbert)]

This is a great initiative by developers and Developer Relations. With the COVID-19 pandemic around and quarantine measures, a lot of children are losing out on the sociability they once had and are now turning to their favourite games where they can connect online. Being able to reinforce the community feeling they can get from playing their favourite games with barriers being slashed in the way of prices is an excellent way to reconnect people around the world right from their devices.

Outstanding play. Much appreciation towards everyone who put this sort together.

[Reapimus]

This new sort sounds great! Would a sandbox building game fit into the sort though?

[TheOmegaMaximo10Z (Max)]

I like this update of adding this new category, it improves discoverality but… its not enough, we still having troubles with this topic so you have to put more effort into this and maybe, add one of the old removed features again that people enjoyed back then. btw it would be amazing to see more categories added, it adds more flavour to the front page

[Mariofly5 (George)]

Submitted the game that me and my team are working on! I have to say that this sort is a really good initiative given the state of current affairs and I’m loving the increase in educational/social sorts.

Good job Roblox!

[DiscombobulatedJack]

Hey there! I’d definitely consider on filling out a submission once we’ve finished this project, really looking forward to seeing how this could turn out! Thank you so much for giving us such an amazing opportunity to enable & create even more astounding experiences through play on this awesome platform!

I’d love to hear your feedback on this upcoming project, you can find the thread here!

[anon82070253]

Instead of continuing to make badly-named sorts (which you will later remove because they don’t work), why not try updating game genres? It’d help players actually distinguish between what games they like and don’t like instead of throwing random games in a sort for players to pick and choose which ones they actually have an interest in with very little information shown to the user.

(This thing that has been neglected and is basically useless)

[Revlayz]

I just really hope this game sort wont be spammed with bad quality games that happend to fit the criteria.

[JustSeanC (Sean)]

Based on the release of this new sort I feel like it’s time for a re-naming of “VIP Servers” to be more on brand and less confusing to new players.

Rename “VIP Servers” to “Private Servers”

There is one thing that is still really annoying and does not fit the current brand movement and remains confusing to first time players. For quite a while now, the term “VIP Server” has been outdated and does not really mean the same thing it did when they were first introduced. The Roblox community generally uses them to play with friends and have a good time without having to deal with randoms. I would like to propose that we change the wording and move away from “VIP” and instead use “Priv…

[Fifkee (Noire)]

Massive agree. They worked at one point, but then all of a sudden they were Banished To The Shadow Realm^TM, never to be seen again. I’d be ecstatic to see the genre bar be used once again, because now it’s just collecting dust even after being so useful to players that wanted to filter out games that didn’t fit their play preference. Going back to filling my description with tags (aka, bloat), is something I don’t want to do.

Thanks for pointing this out

[TheAmazeman]

I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but I asked the same exact question on the “Learn and Explore” sort even with 2 of my studio’s games being on the sort.

Introducing the Learn & Explore sort

Full disclosure, I have submitted to this game sort as I believe Roblox Titanic is highly educational. Overall, it’s not clear if adding more sorts that players may or may not be clicking on will effectively get interested players to the huge diversity of games waiting for them. There is a deeper problem about the concept of a “one size fits all” games-page. I think the best future would be if there were personalized recommended sort algorithms based on tags both the developers and players a…

What are we going to do about the deeper problem? The concept that your game has to be picked to be on the front page or make it there through the other algorithms such as popular or top rated (which is excellent at being highly merit based - though leaves out massive success for mid sized games and mid level rated games just because of the problems with cost of advertising) Evidenced here the game itself does great and sustains a lot more people once put in front of more people

I’d like to see a tag system that both players and developers give to games. Tagging, like hashtaging on social media, allows the centralization of niches. This is going to be very important as Roblox expands globally, not everyone will want to see the same “one size fits all” games page.

A 'One Size Fits All' Games Page is No Solution to the Problem of Game Discovery on Roblox

As a Roblox developer, I see more potential with regard to developers introducing a new game to players, and growing that game with those interested in the niche. Developers should, with a good game for their niche, however big or small that niche already is, be able to reach a wider audience that is potentially interested. Currently, there is a plethora of sorts on the front page, the front page has never had so many games on it than it has today. [image] But what is the click through rate? …

Alternatively,
The 2019 hackweek project player made playlists would be very helpful with UGC created gamelists to get players into their niche easier.

Roblox Hack Week 2019 Highlights

[wyssion (wyss)]

It’s nice to see that ROBLOX is trying with all possible efforts to protect its users from COVID-19.
I think this innovation is quite useful. Thanks!

[Beartikal]

Amazing opportunity for role-play games and social games alike! It’s good to see Roblox adapting to the circumstances of players through game sorts. Definitely gonna apply
https://www.roblox.com/games/1990228024/Bloxton-Hotel#!/about

[dibblydubblydoo (poo)]

Wow, seems like a great and fun idea when we are all going through a piece of history. Thank you ROBLOX for all the amazing features and updates in these past few days! Stay safe!