The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has released a new video aimed at Roblox: Level up with ESRB: Talkin’ Ratings – Roblox and Diverse Content.
The video stars ESRB Senior Vice President Bill Garrity, as he discusses Roblox with his teenage daughter. In the video, Garrity explains how Roblox has a Teen rating, but also includes three important content descriptors: Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases (including Random Items), and Users Interact.
As Roblox is an entire online gaming platform, Diverse Content: Discretion Advised indicates that it includes a wide range of content, from violent shooters, scary survival games, or cozy gardening sims. “Parents know that they may need to go one step deeper to manage what their kids have access to when playing on a platform like Roblox.”
In-Game Purchases indicates a game where players can spend real money to purchase in-game items, or unlock additional content. It’s a common aspect of otherwise free-to-play games. The Random Items qualifier means some games may feature random loot boxes, though that’s becoming increasingly vilified by the gaming community.
Users Interact flags games that can be played online that feature user-to-user communication. This can also mean sharing media, and the use of user-generated content. Roblox is mostly made up of user-created games, hence the Diverse Content!
In other words, Roblox is kind of a nightmare for parents to sift through when it comes to ratings. The multi-gaming platform has proven incredibly popular with kids and teens, and thankfully, the Roblox Corporation provides parental controls to help manage, block, and limit the games, other users, as well as time and money spent on the platform.
Note that all Roblox accounts for children under age 13 automatically include content filters, and disable online chat. Users under 13 cannot access unrated material as well. Of course, this only works if your child enters in the correct birthdate when they sign up!
“If I can offer one more piece of advice, it’s to make sure your kids are entering their actual, birthdate when signing up for Roblox (or for any platform/service for that matter),” says Garrity.” “For Roblox specifically, doing so not only ensures that your kids’ data will be treated appropriately (i.e., adhering to pertinent laws and regulations governing the collection and sharing of personal information belonging to children), but it also activates a number of automatic guardrails around content, communication with others, screen time, and more.”
Read more about the ESRB’s ratings guide and content descriptors here.
