Roblox rolls out its new age-gated account tiers globally

Certain games and experiences are only available to teens and above.

Roblox has launched its age-gated account tiers globally, after a US rollout back in May. These tiers are mandatory and users get pushed into one depending on their age. The ages for these three tiers vary by territory, but in the US Roblox Kids is for children 5-8, Roblox Select is for tweens 9-15 and the traditional Roblox account is for everyone else.

These account types then align with the platform's various maturity labels, which are slapped on games and experiences. The Kids accounts only have access to Minimal and Mild experiences, and there's no option for chat. The Select accounts can also access Moderate content, in addition to Minimal and Mild. These users can also chat with people that have been vetted by parents or guardians.

At 16, teens get moved to the standard Roblox account with all of its features. However, they still won't be able to play games marked as Restricted. Those are only available to users 18 and up.

The platform is also rolling out new parental control features. Parents or guardians can block any game until a child turns 16. Previously, kids over 13 could unblock stuff by themselves. On the flip, parents can approve games outside of a child's age bracket on a case-by-case basis.

All of this depends on the platform's age verification technology, which has experienced some hiccups. Reports from earlier this year suggested that some kids were easily able to game the system by drawing wrinkles and stubbles on their faces and holding up photos of Kurt Cobain. Life always finds a way.