Roblox’s plan for adult dating feature gets lukewarm reception

Roblox has revealed plans to create a dating experience for its users, and the response online hasn’t been particularly positive.

At the Roblox Developers Conference 2023, the platform outlined a new feature that would allow verified users above the age of 17 to access “Roblox dating experiences” and meet people in a more romantic setting.

However, the plans were quickly ridiculed online for running counter to Roblox’s younger demographic, and concerns were also raised about how the feature would be properly safeguarded.

Roblox unveils plans for “17+ dating experiences”

During the conference, Roblox CEO David Baszucki said that the platform was aiming to roll out the feature over the next couple of years, with no confirmed release date in sight.

He described it as: “For 17+ verified people in 17+ experiences: Thousands of adults will meet for the first time in Roblox dating experiences and subsequently form real-life relationships.”

However, the creation of an explicitly adult feature in Roblox, a game normally associated with younger audiences, left some confused as to why the feature was being made in the first place.

One commenter said: “Nice, they made a whole feature for 0.5% of the player base.”

Another asked: “Why? Don’t they know that 95% of their player base are children?”

One player bemoaned the expansion of the game, saying: “It’s absolutely insane to me how every time an online thing becomes popular, it always ends with said online thing turning into ‘how can we make this online thing be the only thing the customer needs in their entire lives?'”

Other features unveiled at the Developers Conference included an avatar-based video chat, which would let Roblox players connect face-to-face. Well, avatar-to-avatar, at least.

For more news and updates on the latest features coming to Roblox, check out our coverage here.