The widely popular gaming platform for children, Roblox, has unveiled its intentions to launch on Sony's PlayStation consoles.
Roblox boasts an impressive daily player count of over 60 million, although it has faced criticism due to concerns about inadequate content moderation.
In addition to this announcement, Roblox is introducing a novel character creation feature, a communication tool named Roblox Connect, and a comprehensive release on Meta's VR platform, Quest.
Gamers can expect to access Roblox on both PlayStation 4 and PS5 starting in October 2023. Prior to this, the game was solely playable on computers, mobile devices, and Microsoft's Xbox One console.
This move signifies a significant step for Roblox in solidifying its position as one of the world's most popular gaming platforms. Its exact popularity remains somewhat ambiguous, but in 2020, Roblox disclosed to Bloomberg that two-thirds of all US children aged nine to twelve engaged with the game.
Furthermore, a Statista survey from the same year revealed that Roblox significantly outshone its closest rival, with 67% of UK children reporting that they played Roblox, compared to just 23% for Minecraft, which happens to be the best-selling video game of all time.
Roblox's appeal stems from its focus on creation. Rather than being a traditional game, it allows players to craft their own games within the platform, even referring to players as developers. Many of these developers are young individuals who have the opportunity to create games and potentially earn in-game currency known as Robux.
While it has been lauded for fostering creativity and encouraging young people to delve into game design, this same freedom and popularity have led to increased scrutiny. In 2022, the NSPCC and Childline reported a five-fold increase in children contacting them with concerns about Roblox since the onset of the pandemic.
The announcement of Roblox's PlayStation launch was made during its annual Developers Conference. The open beta version released on Meta Quest earlier in the year received a positive response, amassing over one million downloads in its first five days. It is set to receive a full launch on Quest later in the month.
However, the long-awaited PlayStation version is finally becoming a reality. Although details about the launch remain somewhat scarce, Roblox has assured players on both previous and current generation PlayStation consoles that they will have access to the complete catalog of Roblox experiences.
Roblox also introduced Connect, a system that enables players to communicate with others in the game using their real names, body language, and facial expressions. By capturing a player's real-world expressions through their camera, Roblox transfers them onto their in-game character.
This motion-capture technology was initially introduced in August, but Roblox Connect represents the company's first attempt to integrate this technology with in-game communication.
Roblox emphasizes that players aged 13 and above must grant consent for camera use, and the company assures users that it neither records nor stores information captured from a player's camera. They clarify that "video from your camera never leaves your device."
The countries where Roblox Connect will be available remain unspecified, with the company promising to provide more details in the future.
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