Roblox Splits Into Three Platforms as Kids, Select, and Standard Accounts Launch Globally

Roblox Corporation announced the global rollout of Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts, new age-based experiences for users under 16, with protections designed to evolve as children grow.

Effective June 16, 2026, Roblox is no longer a single platform; it has restructured itself into three distinct experiences, each calibrated to the age of the verified user.

Users are automatically placed into the applicable account experience based on Roblox’s age-check systems. The move comes as platforms push for stronger online safety measures, making it both a strategic business decision and a necessary step for a platform with 97 million daily active users.

What Roblox Kids and Roblox Select Actually Restrict

Roblox Kids is for age-verified users ages 5-8 and includes the strictest protections, with chat disabled by default and a curated game catalog.

Roblox Select is for age-verified users ages 9-15, offering a broader popular games selection and chat access based on account verification, with protections gradually easing as users get older.

Chat remains disabled for users under 9; age checks are required for chat access, and parents can adjust standard chat settings until a child turns 16.

To safeguard these permitted interactions, Roblox previously launched AI Chat Rephrasing to improve real-time chat moderation. 

Most popular games remain available to Kids and Select users, including Driving Empire, Grow a Garden, and How to Train Your Dragon in the US market. 

The key word throughout Roblox’s documentation is “evolve”; protections are not a static wall but a tiered system that loosens with verified age, giving parents a framework they can adjust rather than a fixed set of restrictions.

Facial Age Estimation and the Chat Lockout

Roblox built on its broader effort to create age-appropriate experiences by becoming the first major online gaming platform to require facial age checks for chat access. 

Facial Age Estimation uses on-device processing, meaning images are neither stored nor transmitted externally, to verify whether a user’s face matches their claimed age.

For younger children and parents seeking stronger safeguards, the system addresses a longstanding weakness in online age verification, a check that Discord has just made mandatory. 

Once the rollout is complete, users who have not completed an age check will be unable to access standard Roblox accounts or chat features, regardless of age.

Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, said: “Children’s needs change significantly as they grow, and online experiences should adapt alongside them.”

What Comes Next and Why the Timing Matters

Later this year, Roblox will begin transitioning to the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) framework, the globally recognised standard for game age ratings. The move will replace Roblox’s current content rating system with one already used across more than 30 countries.

The IARC transition makes Roblox’s age-based system more durable: age verification is only fully effective when content ratings accurately match age tiers. With IARC arriving later in 2026, both layers will operate together for the first time.

Roblox shares rose 8% following the global launch, suggesting investors view the move as a proactive step to address growing child-safety regulations in markets such as the UK, EU, and Australia.

Source: Age-Based Roblox Kids and Select Accounts Now Globally Available