Capitulating to outside pressure, after a barrage of media reports citing unsafe conditions for minors, Roblox is implementing new safeguards. Parents can now access parental controls from their own devices in addition to their child’s device and monitor their child’s screen time. New content labels and improvements to how users under age 13 can communicate on Roblox are additional protections that are now baked into the platform. “We’ve spent nearly two decades building strong safety systems, but we are always evolving our systems as new technology becomes available,” explained the Roblox. Continue reading Roblox Tightens Child Safety Guidelines Amidst Media Outcry

Clip It, the Roblox social media contender in the TikTok space, has crossed the one billion views threshold, according to the company. Roblox reportedly plans to leverage that achievement by launching an ad-supported product for Clip It that merges aspects of its custom-branded Roblox game spaces with programmatic advertising. Clip It offers an endless feed of short-form video, with video ads peppered amidst the content, drawing comparisons to TikTok. Clip It currently serves the same programmatic ads as the Roblox mothership, but that is about to change, thanks to its growing popularity. Continue reading Roblox Plans an Ad Revamp as ‘Clip It’ Passes 1 Billion Views

Online gaming platform Roblox has banned kids from “social hangout” spaces — areas that feature communication through voice chat or text and offer “free-form 2D user creation” experiences where users can do things like share drawings. Roblox has also added safeguards to prevent those under the age of 13 from playing, searching or discovering unrated games. Roblox has imposed the restrictions following allegations that it has failed to protect its younger users. This is the latest such update by a string of social platforms that have imposed guardrails designed to protect young users as lawmakers turn up the heat on child online safety. Continue reading Roblox’s New Child Safety Measures Target Hangout Spaces

The first big play from Disney following February’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games is “ESPN Football Island,” available now as part of the “Fortnite” social gaming platform. The new sports-themed experience is designed to get football in front of younger fans. Games include navigating an obstacle course and “high-intensity box fights,” with the main action centering on “Touchdown Rush,” where players “team up with friends and enter the stadium to navigate rocky terrain, a lava moat, and the other team,” according to ESPN. The experience includes participation from ESPN announcers and will soon feature regular updates highlighting the current season. Continue reading Disney, Epic Launch ‘ESPN Football Island’ Experience Online

During the 10th annual Roblox Developers Conference (RDC 2024) in San Jose, the gaming platform announced it is opening to global currencies in addition to its own Robux, which generates billions in virtual transactions each year. Starting later this year, a small test bed of developers will be able to charge real money for games that charge fees, with a program expected to open “to all eligible creators by mid-2025.” The massively multiplayer online platform that lets users build online game worlds also discussed a project to develop its own AI foundation model to power generative 3D creation on the platform. Continue reading Roblox Adds Real Currency, Teases Its Coming Generative AI

With 950 million active users, messaging app Telegram is planning to launch an in-app browser that supports Web3 along with an app store, according to founder Pavel Durov. Telegram, which launched in 2013, is expected to surpass 1 billion users this year and may hit profitability in 2025, Durov has said. Though the global platform is known for encrypted private communications, it has recently seen a surge of growth among mini-apps and games and has a thriving community built around crypto rewards. Now, Binance Labs has led an investment in Pluto Studio, developer of the Telegram-based game “Catizen.” Continue reading Messaging App Telegram Planning App Store, Pushes Web3

Nintendo is planning to cease online play for the 3DS portable game unit and the Wii U console as of April 8. The company had previously announced it would discontinue the services sometime in April. Now it says as of 4:00 p.m. PDT “online co-operative play, Internet rankings and data distribution” for the platforms will be ending. For the foreseeable future, players can continue to download updates and games they had previously purchased games for the foreseeable future. But Nintendo says it may shutter connected ops sooner “if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services.” Continue reading Nintendo Set to Shutter 3DS and Wii U Online Services April 8

Epic Online Services, the development hub for Epic Games, has expanded its crossplay overlay initiative to include initial support for games on Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation, optimizing its free SDKs for multiplayer crossplay and making it easier for developers to link their games and communities for those platforms across multiple stores. Last summer, EOS launched a PC crossplay overlay. The current upgrade enhances “capabilities across all supported platforms,” the company says, noting “crossplay enables bigger games, bigger audiences” and global games industry growth by connecting more players with a single overlay. Continue reading Epic Offers Crossplay Support for Xbox, PlayStation, Switch

Walmart has planted its flag in the metaverse, launching Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on Roblox, a virtual worlds game platform that emphasizes user-generated content. Roblox community members can check out the Walmart “isles” to collect “verch,” or virtual merchandise, “catch top music artists and unlock exclusive interactive content,” the company says. “Roblox is one of the fastest growing and largest platforms in the metaverse, and we know our customers are spending loads of time there,” Walmart CMO William White said, citing the platform’s 52 million daily active users. Continue reading Walmart Begins Metaverse Build-Out on the Roblox Platform

As it seeks to build-out a metaverse, online game platform and game creation system Roblox is courting brands as well as older users (54 percent of the platform’s daily active users are said to be age 12 and below). The popular gaming platform is adding facial capture for users and offering advertisers digital billboards and links to branded destinations. Roblox has been trying to divide its users by age, and added authentication for those 13 and above last September for access to more adult content. As part of the content diversification critical to both initiatives, Roblox is increasing its Game Fund to $35 million. Continue reading Roblox Targets Advertisers, Diverse Users with New Features

China and India are the world’s most populous nations. Although most people in the industry know at least a bit about media & entertainment in these countries, an NAB 2019 panel brought in two native experts to paint a fuller, more realistic and even surprising picture. A discussion moderated by Corto founder/chief executive and ETC project lead Yves Bergquist brought together two leading experts: Whistling Woods’ Chaitanya Chinchlikar from India and Dr. Charles Lee from China, both of whom gave in-depth presentations. Continue reading A Deep Dive into Media & Entertainment in China and India

Nintendo has teamed up with Japanese mobile game company DeNA to bring Nintendo’s popular characters to smartphones and tablets. DeNA and Nintendo plan to build an online gaming service that will be introduced this fall. However, Nintendo has not completely abandoned its strategy to build games for its own hardware. The company is also working on its next game console, codenamed the NX, which may be unveiled next year. It may possibly incorporate VR or media services offerings. Continue reading Nintendo Will Make Mobile Games Through New Partnership

Video game-centric website Twitch, recently acquired by Amazon for close to $1 billion, now has a global audience of 60 million users. The audience is passionate, consuming 16 billion minutes of video per month. The site seems to be an ideal way for advertisers to reach the young male demographic, between ages 18 and 30. However, televised sports content remains a viable method for reaching this audience, and advertisers have not yet shifted in preference from TV to online gaming. Continue reading Advertisers Still Favor Televised Sports Over Online Gaming

The world championship for the biggest e-sport in the world, “League of Legends,” starts in South Korea this weekend. About 40,000 fans are expected to fill the stadium to watch the tournament live while at least another 30 million will watch the games online. Riot Games runs the League of Legends World Championship along with the online broadcasting, and by producing a premium sporting experience for players, Riot Games may make upwards of $1 billion in 2014. Continue reading Free ‘League of Legends’ Game May Make $1 Billion This Year

Social gaming company Zynga is releasing gambling games in the UK, where online gambling is legal. Zynga has partnered with British online gambling company Bwin.party to introduce gambling games for Facebook and mobile devices. The gambling titles plan to leverage the popular social and mobile aspects of online games. The partnership may also be a sign that others will enter the online gambling market. Continue reading Zynga Turns Social Games to Online Gambling on Facebook