The popularity of Roblox with children was proven by a study that demonstrated over half of kids in America use the platform. It is this popularity with children that has gotten its developer, Roblox Corporation, in hot water numerous times. In 2018, the game was completely banned in the United Arab Emirates after the attorney general deemed the game damaging to children. Just a year earlier in 2017, there was controversy in the media over the chat system in the game being used inappropriately. The public were concerned over the chat systems potential to be utilized for grooming minors and exposing them to inappropriate circumstance.
Though this coverage occurred years ago, it appears these concerns are still in the mind of the Roblox Corporation today in 2021. Currently communication in game occurs almost exclusively through the chat bar. However, in a presentation meant for investors, the company announced it would be introducing a full voice chat system to Roblox. In the announcement the corporation specified that the voice chat would be “safe.” While intentions behind this move are good, it is currently unknown how the company intends on integrating this voice chat.
Previous attempts at “safe voice chat” in other games have not been successful. Minecraft has struggled against this problem for years, with the only relatively safe option being private servers controlled by friends. In 2019 Microsoft announced it would be experimenting with censoring voice chat in real time, but currently there are no adequate solutions widely implemented. Even if profanity can be successfully filtered, much like text chat, voice chat still puts young children at risk. In 2019 it was reported that Fortnite's voice chat was used to groom children.
Roblox fan reactions have been relatively negative in regards to the announcement. Many are expressing their concerns over the toxicity that the game would be introducing with voice chat options. Parents and younger children alike seem united in their distaste for the idea of voice chat implementation. While some are concerned over the safety of the implementation, others are expressing their belief that voice chat will negatively impact the volume of the user base.
Though most seem concerned over the voice chat not being safe, there are some who believe the implementation of a Roblox voice chat is an obvious feature. Still, it spells bad news for the Roblox Corporation that most reactions from its player base to the announcement have been negative.
Roblox is available now on Android, iOS, Mac, PC, and Xbox One.