Marsh
Mallow, there was a big Roblox announcement yesterday — "Kids and Select publishing requirements." I have no idea what that is. Is this relevant to the brand side?
Mallow
It is. Three layers to unpack. First, in April, Roblox announced two new account types: "Roblox Kids" (ages 5–8) and "Roblox Select" (ages 9–15). Each tier has its own "what games you're allowed to play" floor.
Marsh
Split by age, only safe content visible. Got it.
Mallow
Yes. Kids: Minimal or Mild content only, communication off by default. Select: up to Moderate, communication at default settings. Users not age-verified at all: limited to Minimal/Mild, all communication disabled.
Marsh
So what's yesterday's news on top of that?
Mallow
The question of "which games actually reach Kids/Select users." Roblox is now also requiring conditions on the developer side. Rollout started May 19 in New Zealand, Netherlands, Australia, and Indonesia. Global expansion is early June.
Marsh
What conditions on the developer side?
Mallow
Four for the main path. (1) Developer's own ID verification. (2) Two-factor authentication on. (3) Roblox Plus or Premium subscription for 2 consecutive months. (4) Per-game re-evaluation process. Only games meeting all four become visible to Kids/Select users.
Marsh
"Developer" — does that mean every collaborator?
Mallow
This is important. Requirements split by role. The publisher (owner) — the person publishing/updating the game — handles ID verification + 2FA + Plus for 2 consecutive months (or the 1,000 R$ fee) + per-game evaluation. Collaborators and Playtest-permission holders must complete age check from mid-June (no Plus subscription or fee required). Not everyone needs Plus — but everyone needs age check.
Marsh
So on a 5-person brand team, all 5 need age check.
Mallow
Right. And anyone without age check can't take part in "publish-related work." Multi-vendor projects through agencies need to lock down everyone's age check status at contract time, before mid-June.
Marsh
If the owner misses any requirement, nothing reaches kids?
Mallow
Right. On top, a new metric called "highly engaged players." Existing games with 500+ of them over the last 60 days auto-qualify. Conversely, dropping below 100 over the same 60-day window can cost you Kids/Select eligibility. Getting it back requires hitting the 500-in-60-days line again.
Marsh
How is "highly engaged" defined? Different from visits?
Mallow
Roblox actually defined it in the alternate publishing-requirements post: a "highly engaged player" is a user who has met a minimum purchase amount anywhere on Roblox in the last 60 days. Note that — anywhere on Roblox, not necessarily in your game. So it's fundamentally a spend signal, not a pure playtime one. On top of that, the evaluation also weighs account age and play history to confirm the engagement is genuine and not bot- or fake-account-driven.
Marsh
The announcement mentioned "alternate." What's that part?
Mallow
That's the new release: a path that doesn't require the subscription. A one-time refundable 1,000 R$ publishing fee per game. Pay it and the game enters the evaluation flow without the consecutive-Plus requirement. The fee refunds automatically 90 days after the game becomes eligible — or, if it never reaches eligibility, 90 days after your payment date. Either way it comes back, as long as the game isn't permanently moderated for Community Standards violations.
Marsh
1,000 R$… that's about a dollar?
Mallow
About $12.50. Low enough that indie devs aren't priced out. Plus, the existing 100,000 creators who got 6-month complimentary Plus accounts skip the fee entirely.
Marsh
Wait — Plus itself just launched in April 2026, right? "2 consecutive months" is physically impossible for many people, isn't it?
Mallow
Sharp catch. Plus launched April 2026. Global Kids/Select rollout is early June, so only those who subscribed in early April will hit the 2-month bar in time. That's why Roblox auto-enrolled 100,000 existing creators in 6-month complimentary Plus back in April — they automatically clear the June requirement. Anyone newly subscribing now uses the 1,000 R$ refundable fee until they accrue 2 months.
Marsh
So today (May) someone newly enrolled in Plus still doesn't have 2 months…
Mallow
Right. But right now is the "initial rollout period," and existing games with 500 engaged players also auto-qualify through a separate mechanism. So if your game hits "500 highly engaged players over the last 60 days," you reach Kids/Select without worrying about either fee or Plus. The Audience Reach tab in Creator Hub shows your game's status.
Marsh
From a brand seat, what should we be checking?
Mallow
Three things. (1) Confirm the owner on your dev partner side has cleared ID verification, 2FA, and Plus enrollment, and that every collaborator on the project has age check completed (or in queue before mid-June). (2) Existing experiences: maintain the "500 highly engaged players over 60 days" line. Drop below 100 and you risk losing Kids/Select eligibility. (3) For new launches, plan around the fact that under-16 reach is constrained for the first 60 days post-launch.
Marsh
So new experiences can't reach kids right after launch?
Mallow
Right. "Publish and everyone can play" is gone. The new model: "publish, build engagement, qualify, then kids see it." For brands whose primary audience is under-16, the launch playbook needs revision.
Marsh
Failure patterns to avoid?
Mallow
Two. (A) Press plan announces "Featured on Roblox Kids surfaces on launch day!" — but technically the game wasn't visible to under-16 accounts yet. (B) The dev partner is a solo creator, so ID verification slips and isn't completed by launch. On commercial partnerships, agree at contract time on whose name handles the verification.
Marsh
…So, the executive summary?
Mallow
(1) Kids/Select distribution moved from "publish = everyone" to "owner clears requirements + all collaborators age-checked + engagement earned = then reach kids." (2) Brand-side checks: owner requirements status, collaborator age-check progress, plus the 500-players-in-60-days line post-launch. (3) Rollout started May 19 in 4 countries, global early June. Expect a few weeks of moving information — keep watching for clarifications.
Marsh
"Kid-targeted" used to be a planning given. Now the technical floor under it has shifted.
