How Roblox's Changes have Shifted Perspective on the Platform

Has Roblox lost its creativity?

Roblox is an online gaming platform officially released back in September 2006, but it needs no formal introduction. Currently, the platform has over 8.6 BILLION registered users, and although some of those include alternative accounts and inactive users, the massive number just goes to show the reach Roblox has had since its introduction nearly twenty years ago. Despite that massive reach, however, many claim that the Roblox we see today is a much lower quality product than that of Roblox just five, ten years ago. A common point of contention in the Roblox community is whether or not the game has lost its charm, shifting from personality to profit after many years of operation.

My personal opinion? It's a bit of both. With games being monetized, creators can now flourish, with their creativity being incentivised by income. However, that's a double-edged sword, as this system of monitization also allows games of lesser quality to quickly reach the front page of Roblox.

Look at "Grow a Garden" for example, currently ranked as having the highest concurrent playercount of any game in Roblox history. A big title to hold, but many speculate that this is only due to the game being built specifically to influence players to return to it. On top of that, players often "AFK" in the game, allowing their gardens to grow efficiently. This boosts the game in Roblox's discovery algorithm, putting it front and center on the "Games" page, and bringing in new players to repeat the cycle. Typically, Grow a Garden, along with another game, "Steal a Brainrot", are the two featured examples when users give their opinion on how Roblox games have become "slop", and I'm inclined to agree.

So, is there no good content on Roblox? Not at all. Games such as Forsaken, Something Evil Will Happen, Blox Tales, Work at A Pizza Place, and many others have quite a lot of effort put into their creation and active development. And while these may not always be the first games you see on the homepage due to the way Roblox's algorithm works, they're definitely worth the search. It's an unfortunate truth that many of the games pushed to the top of people's discovery feed just aren't high quality in any way. But to claim that Roblox is completely lacking in games that have heart is just outright false. If Roblox chooses to take action against predatory, low quality games, it could provide a hopeful outlook on the future of Roblox. But for now, all we can do is hope for the best.