Sony Refuses to Allow ‘Roblox’ on PlayStation Citing Child Protection Issues
Sony has prevented Roblox from being accessible on PlayStation consoles due to concerns about inappropriate content being accessible to children. This information was revealed in a document from 2022, which was initially reported by Axios and discovered during the Microsoft trial conducted by the FTC. Nonetheless, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan stated that the company’s position was becoming more lenient, indicating the possibility of a future PlayStation version for the immensely popular user-generated platform.
Ryan explained the decision to divest Roblox early last year to investors. “Historically, because of the large number of kids playing on PlayStation, we’ve been very careful to open up anything to them that could potentially take advantage of them,” he said at the time. But he struck an optimistic note with investors eager to see Roblox on Sony consoles. “However, over the last couple of years we’ve been revising those policies and relaxing a bit on this. We’ve been conservative for too long, and now we’re dealing with people on Roblox. We hope that changes.”
Despite comments over a year ago, Roblox is still not on PlayStation consoles. The beloved title, which allows users to create, share and play user-generated content, is available for Xbox, iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. Nintendo has not commented on Roblox’s lack of Switch availability, but the console maker has also historically erred on the side of caution in keeping inappropriate content out of children’s reach.
Roblox introduced a content rating system in 2021 to help parents better manage the user-generated games their children play. More than half of the platform’s daily users are under 13 years old. While it bans content that depicts sexual activity, illegal substances, and profanity, occasional content that violates the rules may slip past moderation in user-generated titles. Additionally, Roblox strives to support its users as they grow and now allows content for players 17 and older. According to it, 17-24 year olds are its fastest growing segment.
