New Programs Available: “Roblox China” Licensed to Operate

It’s not a surprise that they would make it like that. Tencent is known for doing that, they did that to Nintendo already, they created whole bootleg games.

I usually don’t comment but, am I the only one who finds it concerning one of the top comments on here with 192 likes at the time of writing this that criticized China was “flagged by the community”? Where are all the people who flagged this and how many compared to the 192 likes it had?

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When I look at this it just seems like the rules and restrictions are getting stricter every second, imagine how many games wouldn’t be allowed, even the smallest rule here already limits a lot of creativity, I mean, how many games have you seen that have zombies or skeletons in them?
Not even mentioning any blood, I’ve seen a lot of harmless child-targeted games that have non-scary looking zombies or skeletons in them.
And Roblox by default already has this red vignette around the screen whenever you take damage in any game. This seems to go a bit far in my opinion.

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In the end, it’s an optional feature. There’s no mandate forcing your application or adherence to the policies unless you sign yourself onto it. Given that the nature that the restrictions are so tight, I imagine anyone who tries to opt into this program will be very mindful of them.

In any case, it’s China we’re talking about here. Overbearing and egregiously tight regulations should be expected.

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Thankfully it’s a choice, I would straight up have to stop developing if this were forced lol, majority of the things I work on are at least semi-horror themed, or have at least one of many described things to a certain extend (still appropriate for Roblox but still targeted at 13+). Don’t expect me to apply unless China ever decides to make those rules less strict.

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Developers,

We have received questions about whether Appendix A (China) in our Terms of Use changes your UGC rights. We’d like to assure you that it does not grant any right for Roblox, Luobu (a subsidiary of Roblox), or our publishing partner Tencent, to create new or derivative video games using your UGC.

In order to further clarify this, we have updated Appendix A (China) to make it clear that Roblox does not have the right to make new or derivative video games based on either your UGC or “Your China UGC.”

We’ve also extended the GPP program application deadline by one week - the new deadline is March 10th.

Thank you

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This is oddly specific - this doesn’t mention whether they gain rights to your UGC, only that they can’t make games using your UGC.
They still gain rights to your UGC. They just can’t make games with it.

I’ve copied a snippet of Appendix A that shows what they can and can’t do with your UGC here:

2.4. License of Your China UGC

You retain all copyrights that you may hold in Your China UGC. You hereby grant and agree to grant to us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable license, with a power to sub-license through multiple levels to any person or entity (including, but not limited to, to the China Publisher), in respect of Your China UGC, in whole or in part, to:
(a) distribute, host, store, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform (including by means of digital audio transmissions and on a through-to-the-audience basis), reproduce (including in timed synchronization to visual images), and use in any way, in any media or formats (tangible or intangible) and through any platform, media, items or channels (online, offline, or others, now known or hereafter developed), Your China UGC for any purpose including (but not limited to) for publicity and marketing purposes (except that you are not granting us, or any of our affiliates or subsidiaries, or the China Publisher any license to make new or derivative video games using Your China UGC);
(b) use Your China UGC and associated username to publicize or market the Service or China Game, any UGC, and tangible items related to the Services or China Game through television, motion pictures, books, annuals, encyclopedias or anthologies, websites, social media, online or print magazines or newspapers, whether for commercial, non-commercial or educational purposes; and
(c) modify, localize, filter, create derivative works of, or otherwise alter the whole or part of Your China UGC, for any purpose including for publicity and marketing purposes (except that you are not granting us, or any of our affiliates or subsidiaries, or the China Publisher any license to make new or derivative video games using Your China UGC).

…use Your China UGC and associated username to publicize or market the Service or China Game, any UGC, and tangible items related to the Services or China Game…

…distribute, host, store, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform (including by means of digital audio transmissions and on a through-to-the-audience basis), reproduce (including in timed synchronization to visual images), and use in any way, in any media or formats…

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China has a track record of mandating American companies to provide their intellectual property, promising to respect copyright and patent law, only for China to do the precise opposite and hand it off to state owned enterprises, which then compete with the American company. This is what is done with Huawei and what was done to Uber.

These rights exist primarily under US law; China is mostly state-owned, which means that the law does not apply fairly, and Chinese owned companies can simply ignore the law and ethics in making business, including business that unfairly competes with foreign companies on the national and international stage.

China is also generally known for poor intellectual property protections, as you can see from this US congressional report from September 2020 (Intellectual Property Violationsand China: Legal Remedies).

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made a game that follows the guidelines!

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lol ok I love this, I never thought about that, Ima go check the game out rn.

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So, let me name POPULAR games that will be banned in China:

Arsenal, Phantom Forces, Zombie Rush, Royal High, Murder Mystery 2, Jail Break, Mad City, Zombie Attack, Build A Boat For Treasure, Tower Heroes, Tower Defense Simulator, Tower Battles, Broken Bones IV, Ragdoll Engine, The Wild West, Identity Fraud, Survive The Killer.

These are just few of the games and BTW what about avatar shop? What about Official Roblox Items?
I mean the items like Skeleton, Mr.Skeleton, Skeleton Knight, Zombie Face.

+Some UGC Accessories
Will they be banned?

Good Job Roblox :smirk: :+1:

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I’m really unsure about this, I mean China is a good market, but I have a feeling that there’s guidelines that have to be followed and will have to remove some stuff in the China variant of roblox.

And how would the verifying games for Roblox in china will work? Like, how would they verify it and to make sure it follows their rules?

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Ok so after getting time for myself I decided to check out the T.O.S for Roblox china and…all I can say is why? why is it so strict, half of the big games on Roblox will be banned in china, and alot of roblox’s avatar items and UGC items will be banned there as well. At first I thought this was amazing that roblox is doing this but now I think its kinda bad.

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I agree with you. It’s pretty crazy! I won’t support a country like china!

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People are still attacking China for this? Remember, it’s an option. You don’t have to apply.

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yeah, it’s basically just that it can be used for advertising media etc. not a big deal, nothing to worry about.

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Why is Roblox even doing business with China? They don’t respect human rights of minorities or those they see who are weaker than them.

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You don’t have to.
Regardless of what anyone says, if China doesn’t like it, they do a good job of keeping their citizens blind.

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I was speaking about the weird application process. The Chinese thing is a separate service maintained by Tencent, yet it somehow shares places with Roblox. The payout system also seems like overcomplicated food rations.

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You get your place verified by going through the application process linked in this topic. The rules are in the application as well.

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