Roblox is one of the biggest gaming platforms on the planet, with about 66 million daily active users, half of which are 13 or younger – at least, that is what the company says. With this reach, you would think the platform is present on both of the major consoles, right?
- Sony is working to bring Roblox to PlayStation.
- Sony had been cautious about exposing its user base to potential exploitation.
- Roblox recently announced a new age-based category for young adults.
- Roblox’s 17-24 year old demographic now represents 38% of its daily active users.
But, that’s where you’d be wrong. Apart from PCs and smartphones, Roblox is only present on Microsoft’s Xbox console line and not on Sony’s PlayStation consoles. The reason for this is simple: Sony is cautious about exposing its large user base of children to exploitation that might arise as a result of Roblox’s operations model.
We only just found out about this due to the ongoing FTC trial of Microsoft that has also required Sony to share some of its internal documents. One of these documents, uncovered by Axios, is a record of a conversation between PlayStation’s head honcho, Jim Ryan, and the company’s investors.
He told the investors, “Historically, because of the large number of children that play on the PlayStation, we have been very careful with regards to opening them up to anything that could potentially exploit them.”
Ryan went on to reveal that PlayStation is changing its stance and taking a different approach to the matter. He said the company had reviewed its policies and was now looking to bring Roblox to the console.
In his words, “Over the last couple of years, however, we have reviewed those policies and relaxed a little on this. We have been conservative for too long, and now we are currently engaging with people at Roblox. We hope that the situation will change.”
Given that this conversation took place in early 2022, we expect that both companies have made great strides in the mission to bring Roblox to PlayStation. We can’t help but wonder if the reverse is the case, though, since there hasn’t been any official communication from either side on the matter.
Whether or not PlayStation supports Roblox, the online gaming platform is getting by just fine. Recently, it announced it is adding a new age-based category that will allow developers to create games for young adults.
Even though the platform is historically for children, it saw a massive influx of 17 -24-year-olds in 2022. Fast forward to this year, this demographic now represents 38% of its daily active users; hence, its decision to add the new category and allow games suitable for the demographic.
