Roblox Grows Up; AR Puts Exposure Therapy in Your Pocket

Roblox is largely the company to thank for the metaverse craze that has spread throughout tech, gaming, VR and AR in 2021. It also wants to be a pioneer and leader in terms of digital safety for these kinds of immersive worlds, an ambition that’s only going to become more challenging as its millions-strong user base grows.

On Tuesday, Roblox announced a new initiative intended to help address potential safety and moderation problems before they become an issue: age verification. When Roblox rolls out spatial voice features later this year, letting users playing together hear one another even if they haven’t chosen to opt into a chat together, it will be available for “early access” only to those who’ve verified that they are 13 or older. That’s a brave move on Roblox’s part, as more than half of its user base are younger than 13.