By the way guys, I wanted to share a major roadblock I hit with this project. Even though we can complete the Questionnaire, my game is completely locked out of being recommended in the Kids / Roblox Select categories because of Roblox’s verification wall. To get verified for these child-friendly recommendations and show the game to my target younger audience, Roblox literally demands either 500 engaged users within 60 days or paying a ridiculous fee of 100,000 Robux!
It’s a total chicken-and-egg problem for a starting dev: I can’t get players because the game has zero algorithmic discovery since it’s blocked from Kids/Select categories, and I can’t get verified because I don’t have 100k Robux or 500 players yet. Roblox really needs to add a free, manual review queue for small/indie creators so our games don’t just sit dusting on the shelves. What do you guys think about this system?
half of roblox players are over 16 if the game would have done well at all ages it is extremely likely to still do well starting at 16+
i dont think this really changed much im pretty sure before this you still basically had to spend a bit of money for ads to get your game tested for the algorithim and you can still do just that
I see your point, but there are two major issues with this approach for starting indie developers:
First, my game is specifically designed for a younger audience, so being locked out of the Kids/Select categories severely hurts my target demographic reach. Statistically, the vast majority of Roblox’s daily active users are still within the younger demographics that browse these curated sections, while the 16+ audience makes up only about 1/5 of the platform. Trying to push a family-friendly game to a 16+ audience through ads doesn’t make much sense.
Second, the main issue is the entry barrier. Sure, running small ad campaigns to test retention has always been a thing, but there’s a massive difference between spending a few thousand Robux to test an MVP and having to pay a flat 100k Robux just to bypass a verification gate. For a beginner developer like me who literally has zero money to spend on ads or platform fees, 100k Robux is an astronomical, completely impossible amount of money.
That’s why a free, manual review queue is so necessary - it gives high-quality indie projects a fair chance without forcing us to choose between an impossible player threshold or a massive paywall.
Roblox is actively trying to shift their platform to be better for older users, and this means getting rid of the large amount of games designed “for kids”.
Even then, if a game “made for kids” is designed well enough and not just “catch a brainrot modded” or some other crap like that, you should have no problems getting 16+ players on it other than the already existing issue of roblox algorithms that has been an issue for infinitely longer than this update has been out.
Part of this update was to stop low-quality games, which most of them were using “it’s for kids” as an excuse to make a million and one cash-grabs.
You don’t have to pay that fee, nor is that fee intended for indie developers or beginners.
The 100k fee is intended for studios with tight deadlines that need to pay for the manual verification to happen faster.
It doesn’t bypass anything except the need for 500 “highly engaged” players, the verification process still happens anyway.
Yeah no it’s not. You also are entirely ignoring the logistics behind it.
If there was no fee and the review just happened for free, you would end up spending even longer waiting for that review to get done, given it’d ever get done, than you would have spent waiting for the 500 HEP.
A game I made when I was 16 which had zero marketting reached a few hundred CCU and generated enough money to pay for the 100k fee several times.
If I could do it when I was 16, there isn’t much of an excuse why you can’t.
I completely agree with you that Roblox needs to clean up the platform from low-quality spam and “brain rot” cash grabs that hide behind the “made for kids” label. That is a very valid goal.
However, the current system acts as a blunt instrument that causes massive collateral damage to genuine indie developers, while failing to stop the actual cash-grabbers:
The paywall doesn’t stop bad actors (look at Do Big Studios): Massive entities and corporations like Do Big Studios, who are notorious for acquiring indie titles just to aggressively monetize them with extreme pay-to-win mechanics, have absolutely no problem with these restrictions. They have the massive capital to easily pay the 100k Robux fee or drive thousands of users through ads instantly. The paywall doesn’t block them; it only blocks honest, solo indie developers with zero budget who are trying to build genuine experiences from scratch.
Target demographic mismatch: If a game is mechanically and visually designed for younger children (bright colors, simple UI, friendly theme), it naturally won’t appeal to a 16+ audience looking for more complex experiences. Trying to push a kids’ game to 16+ players just to get around the system doesn’t work in practice.
That is exactly why a free, manual review queue (or even an ID-verification bypass) is the perfect middle ground. It would allow Roblox to manually filter out the low-quality “brain rot” games, while giving genuine, high-quality indie projects a fair chance to reach the younger audience they were actually built for.
If you’re just going to get AI to respond for you I don’t see any reason this entire discussion should exist since we’d all end up just talking to a chatbot.
I’m sorry, but I’m using AI so I don’t have to type a lot of text, but I’m guiding it in the right direction so that it can write my summary. Currently, about 40% of people are using AI to speed up their responses and provide a more in-depth explanation.
Don’t try to blame AI; it’s just following the commands I give it. I wrote a text with 120 characters, and it responded with 1,500 characters, providing a more detailed explanation.
I believe ROBLOX is doing the right thing, Its what happens when one of your limbs get cancer, You CUT IT OFF.
This platform has welcomed freeloaders for a long time now, And look where its gotten itself. Roblox isn’t a game its a library of games! Roblox’s future is looking very promising with these changes.
“Indie developers don’t get a chance”
Your average “indie” developer on ROBLOX right now uses Claude and spends their time larping on the internet. No one on ROBLOX has ever started great its always the same path for every developer:
You tinker around with the engine learn the basics
You start to pick it up, create your own things & showcase them
A couple years later depending on how much you learned you yourself could be working for a game studio.
IF ANYTHING ROBLOX is giving indie developers a better chance at success by discouraging slop games pure indie developers that create unique games and truly thrive.
Here are some games made by small teams that released under ROBLOX’s new restrictions:
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this platform is as long as what you made is good, You’ll make it.
Every single multi-million dollar game on this platform started with a solo, broke teenager messing around in Roblox Studio. “Adopt Me”, “Royale High”, “Fisch” — none of these were built by giant corporations with huge budgets from day one.
If you kill the indie scene and block new creators from entering the market just because they don’t bring in “millions of dollars” on day one, you kill the future of the platform. Roblox will turn into a stagnant, boring space filled only with corporate, pay-to-win cash grabs. Every platform needs fresh blood to survive.
Sorry, my reply was more of a joke than anything. But I get what you’re saying, however, none of those devs were stuck behind the 16+ wall. I personally doubt the games you mentioned would have reached their same level popularity if they released locked to 16+ users.
This reminds me of a point I mentioned several times a while ago, when the new publish requirements first came out, before the 500 HEU thing - say someone is 10-12 or so. If they can’t (or their parents wont) buy Roblox Plus or give them Robux for the R$1K, or ID verify, then they can’t publish to their own age group and can only publish to 16+.
Calling beginner or solo developers “freeloaders” or a “cancerous limb” is an incredibly toxic take on a platform that was literally built by hobbyists in their bedrooms.
Let’s address your points realistically:
“The paywall filters out weak games so unique ones thrive”: This is logically and mathematically incorrect. The 100k Robux/500 players barrier filters by capital, not by quality. A massive studio spamming low-effort, copy-paste cash-grabs has 100k Robux to spare as a minor business expense. A solo developer with a highly unique, passionate, and polished game but $0 in their pocket gets completely hidden. The paywall does not stop the “cancer”; it just ensures only rich corporations can buy their way through.
“Just work for a studio after a few years”: Not every developer wants to be a corporate asset or a wage slave for a massive studio. Many of us want to retain our creative freedom, build our own unique IPs, and remain independent. Roblox’s entire charm and success were built on the idea that a solo creator could make it big on their own terms.
Using Claude/AI isn’t “larping” - it’s working smart: Dismissing developers who use AI tools like Claude as “larpers” is just outdated gatekeeping. AI is a powerful assistant that helps solo creators bridge technical gaps and build highly complex systems. For instance, I used AI to help write the backend/server-side code for my own game. That’s not larping; that’s being a resourceful, modern developer who knows how to leverage technology to build real things. Why should developers be punished with a 100k Robux wall for being efficient?
“Nobody started big”: Exactly! But when the creators of legendary Roblox games started, they didn’t face a massive 100k Robux paywall just to get their game shown to their target audience. If these rules existed back then, those legendary games would have died in obscurity.
Nobody is asking for a free pass for low-effort spam. We are simply asking for a fair, manual verification path that filters by quality, not by wallet size.
by the way, I made this answer using AI, but I fully explained your point of view to it
No worries! Really glad we’re on the same page now, and you made an amazing point.
I’m 14, and even though I already passed the official ID verification, I still can’t compete with giant corporations. Verification doesn’t magically give a solo dev 100k Robux just to get their game shown to the right audience.
And you’re totally right about the younger kids. Forcing a 10-12 year old to publish in 16+ because they can’t pay or verify completely kills the “kids making games for kids” spirit.
Roblox needs security, but not at the cost of killing the next generation of creators.
You see, if you had actually read the post and used a thing called a “brain”, which at this point I’m starting to think you lack, you would have actually understood that they’re talking about the low-quality games that flooded roblox. Games like Sols RNG, the games with no gameplay.
But no, instead you got AI to respond with as expected blatantly incorrect responses for you since you aren’t bothered having an actual discussion and would rather fear monger instead of actually listen to what people have to say about things.
Did you tell the AI that both of the fees are refundable?
Did you also forget to mention that one of the fees only costs around 10 AUD?
Ignoring the 100k robux fee, wallet size has zero factor on whether the game can get to all ages or not. It’s whether your game is of quality and can appeal to all ages.
And again, the expedited fee is not for indie-devs, solo devs, or small/beginner teams. It’s for already established studios which have deadlines.
This has to be the most brain-dead attempt at logic ever posted on this forum. “Ignoring the price of a Ferrari, anyone can drive one!” How do you just “ignore” a massive financial wall? The entire point is that you need to HAVE the 100k Robux upfront to even get past it.
Are you actually serious? A “refundable” fee still requires you to have the money in the first place. I am 14 years old. I successfully passed my ID verification, but I can’t magically spawn 100k Robux out of thin air. A broke teenager can’t put up a thousand dollars as a “refundable deposit” just to show their game to other kids.
You literally just admitted that the system is rigged to favor massive corporate cash-grabs over solo creators, and yet you are still sitting here defending it. You’re so terrified of losing your standing with Roblox or getting banned that you’ll bend over backwards to lick the corporate boot and protect a greedy system.
You aren’t “smart” for gatekeeping and defending a multi-billion dollar company’s greed.
this has nothing to do with greed even if you think this is bad the reasoning for this is obviously roblox being scared of lawsuits the money gained from developers paying these fees will be practically 0 compared to their current revenue from players
even a million games a year paying the 10 dollar publishing fee would be only 1% of roblox’s revenue
Even if they are trying to protect themselves from lawsuits, why should the financial burden fall entirely on independent solo creators?
If these fees are just “pennies” to a multi-billion dollar corporation, then why force a solo developer to pay 100k Robux just to get their game discovered? It might be pocket change for Roblox, but it’s an impossible wall for an indie creator who just wants to share their project.
Protecting the platform from legal issues is fine, but ruining the accessibility for the next generation of developers to do so is just awful management.
the reason the fee has to be paid by the creators is otherwise bad people can spam games and effectively block the process for no cost
with the fee roblox cant be hurt by that cause the bad actor is effectively just paying for roblox to review their case and find out that they are bad
If you understand how to drive a car, you can drive a Ferrari. You don’t have to own one to be able to drive it. I don’t have a playstation, but I could very easily use one.
You can also choose to rent a Ferrari, which is far cheaper than outright owning one.
Maybe get your AI to think about your counterargument a little more before responding.
Because it’s completely optional and I understand that it is not intended for smaller developers.
I could buy a Ferrari and drive one, but I could also buy a VW Golf and drive that instead.
Orrrr you make a good game that people of all ages can enjoy and pay the 1k fee which is refunded both whether it gets the 500 HEP or not.
The only problem with getting the 500 HEP requirement (which is being lowered soon FYI), is the roblox algorithm, which has been a long-standing issue for many years. Getting people on your game is still just as difficult as it was 3 years ago, you’re just temporarily restricted to a pool of 16+ users now.
Well, you being 14 explains a lot. You don’t understand a single thing.
1k robux is nothing. That’s the cheapest, and even then still optional fee you have to pay, and you still get the robux back.
Sure, when you’re younger, getting robux is more difficult, I would know, but also I don’t think publishing to all ages is something that’s required for a 14yo.
At this point in your life, especially with game development, you should be learning how to code, build, design UI, etc. Of course though, the introduction of the oh-so-hated AI LLMs has caused people like you to get extremely impatient and not use your brains.
I’m not expecting you to, however 1k robux is much more achievable and is the option that is MEANT FOR YOU.
Sorry to give you a harsh reality here, other kids aint gonna care, and neither will older users if you use AI.
I’d imagine I’d have a pretty bad standing with roblox actually.
The forums don’t effect moderation on the actual platform lol. I wouldn’t get banned for saying a feature is bad, and infact I haven’t been banned or even warned the many times I have complained about genuinely bad features.
I don’t want to get political here, but I’m literally as far left as one can be. I want socialism lol. Capitalism is awful.
Roblox is an awful engine. They have made a lot of terrible updates. This fee and player requirement has never been the worst thing ever, and it won’t ever be. Sure, it needs work, and roblox has already stated they’re working on it.
The company of Roblox, given yes is somewhat bad, does have actual reasons for such. ID verification? Forced by governments. Age Ratings? Also forced.
Have they made bad decisions ? Yes. Have all of their decisions been bad? No. Will they continue to made mixed decisions? Also yes. But, most of the recent bad updates have been caused by governments lobbying for Roblox to bend over backwards and do things they really shouldn’t be, such as parenting children instead of punishing the parents for not parenting their kids.
However, again, I’m just actually bothered into reading into things unlike you so I can understand them and thus don’t make useless complaints based on outdated or outright incorrect information.
Brother what?
I hate a lot of roblox’s practices as much as the next guy, I’m just able to understand why things are implemented, how they’re implemented, bother looking for changes coming to them as well as the actual root causes of any problems made more prevalent by new features.
Because its the safest barrier of entry.
Since the world runs on money, if you have to put money into something legally, suddenly bad actors are a lot more hesitant to put money into it.
Again, the 100k fee is for all ages, not for 16+. Your game can still be discovered, and it can still be discovered by all ages for a lot cheaper. You’re of course ignoring that option entirely because it proves my point that the problem isn’t the requirement but the algorithm.
Frankly if it’s people like you who are the “next generation of developers” then I’m glad you’re being barred from it. You’re ignorant, refuse to listen to others, use AI for literally everything, overall just not a likeable person at all.
So the solution is to lock out every single broke indie creator who actually wants to make something good? That is just incredibly lazy system design.
This 100k Robux paywall doesn’t stop rich bad actors or copycats with actual budgets. They can easily pay the fee. It only stops legitimate solo developers.
Look at my own game, Escape The Black Hole to Survive. It might look like a cheap cash-grab at first glance, but there is literally only ONE gamepass in it—a skin that costs just 2 Robux. I’m not here to squeeze money out of players, and I’m not here on this forum to make a profit. I am here to stand up and save the current and next generation of developers from being completely choked out by these greed-driven barriers. Yet, under this system, games like mine will never get discovered by the right audience just because we can’t afford a massive paywall.
Instead of investing in a proper, free verification pipeline, Roblox chose the laziest route: taxing the community and turning basic reach into a premium feature.