Access to Roblox has been banned in Russia because the country’s authorities deemed it a hotbed of “LGBT propaganda.”
The news agency reported that Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor made the announcement last night Reuters announced, blocking the giant gaming platform for Russian citizens.
In a statement explaining its decision, Roskomnadzor said it had removed the ability to access Roblox because it “contained inappropriate content that may negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
By many measures the largest game in the world, with over 151.1 million daily vigorous users, Roblox hosts countless player-created games – including breakout hits like Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot, which are enjoyed by more players than anything else on Steam.
It is unclear exactly which games on Roblox have drawn Russia’s ire, although the country has taken an increasingly strict approach to any content with LGBT themes in recent years. In 2013, Russia implemented a law aimed at protecting children from information promoting denial of classic family values, which sought to label LGBT content as contrary to classic Russian values.
Russia is not the first country to block access to Roblox, although countries such as Iraq and Turkey, which have also banned the game, have done so citing concerns about child safety concerns. Facing a growing number of players and a user base consisting primarily of users under the age of 18, Roblox has spent the last year belatedly adding various features aimed at improving user safety, after series of reports that have underlined cases Where users have been contacted AND cared for by adults.
Last month, Roblox announced plans to require facial age checks on all chat communications to limit communication between minors and adults. The move came shortly after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton unveiled a novel lawsuit accusing Roblox of “defrauding parents” and “blatantly ignoring” child safety laws.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s news editor. You can contact Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
