A PDF of this report can be found here.
February 5th, 2026
We thank all attendees for their enthusiasm, insightful contributions, and willingness to create a welcoming community for those researching Roblox around the world. We hope this summary of our shared ideas discussed in the Researching Roblox Birds of a Feather Workshop in January 2026 will be only the first spark out of many future encounters and collaborations amongst us.
This workshop brought together 31 participants, including 14 graduate students, from 23 institutions across 10 countries — Brazil, Australia, Singapore, the United States, Canada, South Korea, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Portugal.
We extend our gratitude to: Abner Oliveira, Alex Corbitt, Amanda Levido, Azam Dashti Khavidaki, Bradley Yung, Caitlin Donnelly, Christina Maxwell, Dana Trenaman, David Severa, Dee Marksman-Phillpotts, Florence Chee, Hoa Mai Trần, Ivelise Fortim, Jessica Shannon Smith, Madeleine Hunter, Marcus Carter, Michael Dezuanni, Pâmela Rocha, Rebekah Willett, Richy Srirachanikorn, Roxanne Baril, Sam Schwamm, Sanika Vekhande, Sarah Mihychuk, Silja Mitange, Sohyun Park, Valérie-Inés de la Ville, Victoria Sands, and Yujin Shin.
Sincerely,
Natalie Coulter and Ana Kubrusly
Who is studying Roblox?
There is a highly interdisciplinary community dedicated to researching Roblox. Among us, we have people in education, communication and media studies, childhood and youth studies, social work, library science, economics, law, anthropology, UX and service design, social and community psychology, sociology, game studies, and digital studies.
While some of us are young researchers who grew up playing Roblox, many in our community are parents, caregivers, teachers, or work with children regularly, and were drawn to Roblox as an object of study because children around them brought it to our attention. Often, our methodologies have positioned children not merely as research subjects but as active co-researchers who lead data collection efforts and contribute to the design of Roblox-focused studies.
Where is Roblox being studied?
Our collective hosted researchers from various places in the world — Brazil, Australia, Singapore, the United States, Canada, South Korea, France, Czech Republic, Germany, and Portugal — in our community. Although some of us are focusing on our national contexts, many are conducting studies within Roblox itself and on adjacent platforms, overcoming geographical frontiers.
While some Roblox research is being conducted in broader gaming research networks, we are unaware of a network exclusively dedicated to Roblox as a platform — that is, before this one!
What is being studied in/with/through Roblox?
Researchers who attended the workshop are exploring what is Roblox, as a platform: a media production space? A game? A giant ad? A metaverse? A playground? Social media? We are aware there is power in naming and, therefore, are careful when it comes to defining Roblox, paying attention to how the position we attribute to this platform — and the one it attributes to itself through self-branding and corporate discourse — shapes regulations, common sense perspectives, and research agendas.
When it comes to users’ experiences, most of the research focuses on children and young people — although themes are various: learning, creativity, socialization, play, time, nostalgia, datafication, affect, communicative practices risky behaviour, (in)equality, digital cultures, self-expression, leisure, identity, gambling, family dynamics, among many others. We are also interested in Roblox’s place within the digital ecosystem and how it is used in conjunction with other platforms (e.g. Discord, Facebook Messenger).
One core theme that many of us are interested in is the commercial nature of Roblox and how it intertwines with children’s experiences in Roblox. On the one hand, the platform exploits children’s digital labour (playbour?), with many young people being creators in the platform generating value, often without clear protection and rights. On the other hand, playing in the platform is severely constrained and shaped by Robux, Roblox’s virtual currency and by dynamics tied to the attention economy.
Collectively, we understand there is an inherent contradiction between how Roblox’s frames itself as a positive space for learning and enacting digital citizenship and its design as profit-driven platform. For instance, Roblox Studio is proprietary code that cannot be transferred to other platforms, so young people are taught to do code that is not easily transferable. Yet this is a major selling point of Roblox in educational spaces.
When it comes to safety, we study how children negotiate — and often successively circumvent — Roblox’s rules, regulations and moderation. Although Roblox’s effort in the ‘trust and safety’ department may seem good at face value, we question what the platforms’ ultimate goals are and how it benefits by positioning itself as a "children’s platforms” — which adults often imagine as inherently safe. The fact it also does not define itself clearly as ‘social media’ (or something else) also makes it harder to regulate externally. Many researchers in the community explore how gambling, sexual content and behavior, privacy risks, harmful interactions, hate speech, and other risks take place in the platform
Although acknowledging and studying risky behavior and dangers tied to the usage of Roblox, we recognize moral and media panics around Roblox are ultimately unproductive, leading to discourse and policy that undermines children’s rights to participation. Most of all, we are committed as a community to centering children’s voices and views when it comes to their relationship towards Roblox.
How is Roblox being studied?
Most members of this community employ qualitative methods to research Roblox, and many explore creative methods. Research is being done through interviews, digital and connective ethnographies, arts-based methods, walkthroughs and media-go-alongs lead by children, platform and ux analysis, creative and participatory methods, observation of gameplay, parental surveys, and analysing Roblox’s corporate materials as well as legislation.
Some of us highlight the ethical challenges of doing research on Roblox, particularly when it involves young children or sensitive/taboo topics. Among the methodological issues raised is accessing children who are more vulnerable, as well as non-native English speakers. Moreover, the issue of generalizing findings in a space as fragmented as Roblox seems to be a relevant challenge.
Why study Roblox?
Considering Roblox of a ‘snapshot of our society’ we discussed how studying Roblox can help us better understand childhood: how it is shaped by digital capitalism, how kids make-sense of their own identities in digital spaces, how they manage citizenship and participation, and learn. We may think of Roblox as a contemporary “infrastructure of childhood” — with the platform’s decisions having crucial impact on children’s rights, play, culture, and social participation.
Roblox also aids us in pushing discussions about our digital lives beyond screen time and safety, making us rethink regulation, media quality, and adult responsibility in children’s digital environments. Moreover, it mirrors societal debates, crisis, inequalities, values, and imaginaries. To unravel these narratives is fundamental to making-sense out of contemporary digital society, as well as the power struggles — the interplay between power and resistance — that will shape our digital futures.
Citing this report:
Kubrusly, A. and Coulter, N. (Feb 5, 2026). Researching Roblox: Birds of a Feather Workshop [Workshop Summary PDF]. Digital Futures Research Hub, York University. https://www.yorku.ca/laps/research/questioning-kidtech/2026/02/05/summary-roblox-workshop/.