Roblox Corp. is betting that it can keep its fast-expanding community of players and creators engaged with short form video — and that artificial intelligence can help the gaming company expand safely for young users.
At their annual two-day developer conference in September, Roblox announced that the video game platform has 111.8 million daily active users — up 41% from a year earlier. Unlike traditional games, Roblox is built almost entirely by its users, whose creations keep players gaming for nearly three hours a day on the platform.
To keep those users on the platform even longer, the company announced they’ll venture into short-form video clips with “Moments,” another way for users to create content. Doing so, they hope to keep the social buzz that surrounds Roblox inside its own ecosystem rather than on YouTube, Youtube Shorts or TikTok, where Roblox clips have drawn trillions of views.
“New pieces of the platform like ‘Moments’ drive new game discovery. It’s a flywheel effect — you have more and more and more viral hits,” Alicia Reese, Senior Vice President of Equity Research, said.
Gamers can record up to 30-second clips of their gameplay, which will be added to a scrollable feed, like TikTok, which will be moderated by the platform. The video discovery feature will be limited to those 13 and up, amid concerns about the video game company’s ability to preserve child safety.
Investors have seen promise in Roblox, with the stock up 108 percent YTD, despite the business’s inability to turn a profit. Roblox hopes to make a dent in their losses going into 2026, but analysts predict that the company will continue to lose nearly $900 million.
As the company grows, AI is also set to play a central role in its strategy to win back trust and make more money. Roblox is leaning on the technology to both help developers quickly build new game assets but moreover for age verification tools for its young gamers.
Roblox said in September it will deploy AI-powered age-estimation tools across its platform by year-end, using facial analysis, ID verification and parental consent to limit communication between adults and minors.
The rollout comes as Roblox is set to face off against a smattering of lawsuits from parents who accuse the gaming company of turning a blind eye to pedophiles on the platform.
Players 13 and older will have to submit a video selfie to confirm their age, which is done through a third party provider, Persona. A month prior, the company announced Roblox Sentinel, which promised to use AI to detect child endangerment in a flash.
While the plan to further integrate AI to improve “facial age estimation technology” may reassure regulators and parents, it also places Roblox in the middle of contentious debates about privacy and surveillance.
At their annual conference, executives assured investors and creators that integrating artificial intelligence to improve safety features and gameplay would support the company’s aggressive ambition to capture 10% of global gaming content revenue, more than tripling its current share.