One of the world's most popular video games, Roblox boasts over 200 million global monthly active users.
Wildly successful amongst children, it is an ever-expanding sprawling universe in which gamers can meet, chat and play.
The game can be a terrific outlet for creativity and online play, but a darker side to the title has been revealed.
Roblox has a sex problem. A BBC report found a naked man, wearing only a dog collar, being led across the floor by a woman in a bondage outfit.
Users regularly and openly solicit cybersex, while others watch wearing Nazi uniforms.
These revelations are not an isolated incident, with other gamers reporting widespread inappropriate behaviour.
Roblox has long known it has an adult content problem on its platform, but the game of cat and mouse between users and developers only has one winner.
What is Roblox?
Valued at $38billion on the New York Stock Exchange during its first week of flotation, Roblox is a massive online platform and game creation system.
It moves away from the traditional gaming experience by allowing players to program and play games created by other users, which some have called a primitive 'metaverse'.
Devised by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 then released two years later, the game's popularity steadily rose but was mostly crowded out of the market by larger productions.
However, during the mid-2010s, the rise of popular YouTubers and Twitch helped the game reach new heights and millions of new users.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw the game's popularity skyrocket, as it allowed children to play, create and chat in a fun online space while school was closed.
Roblox cannot be classified as video game, more a platform in which players can dip in and out of almost limitless virtual worlds and play any game they like.
But because of this, it makes the game almost impossible to regulate and leaves developers playing a gigantic game of Whac-A-Mole.
Are there age restrictions on Roblox?
Roblox is rated PEGI 7 in the UK. This means it is broadly suitable for children aged seven or older with some content that could possibly be frightening to younger children.
Internet safety organisation Internet Matters point out that because the content in Roblox is user-generated it doesn’t fall under the same rigorous age ratings as content made by commercial companies.
Children even younger than seven that can easily sign up by simply entering a birth date that would allow them to play.
In response to recent reports, Roblox said: "We know there is an extremely small subset of users who deliberately try to break the rules.
"We conduct a safety review of every single image, video, and audio file uploaded to Roblox, using a combination of human and machine detection."
But these measures are clearly not working.
Roblox's sex games are commonly referred as 'condos'. This is where users can talk about and simulate having sex with one another.
Though users are unlikely to just stumble upon one, there existence is highly worrying for parents and children.
James Clayton, who led the investigation acknowledged an interview earlier this week:
"Certainly from what I saw, these games aren’t up for very long – you’re talking minutes, maybe hours – they do take them down very quickly”
"I don’t think parents should be worried about children stumbling onto condos themselves - you would have to actively look - so unless your child is actively looking for them, they won't find them."
Are there parental controls on Roblox?
Roblox told the BBC, they had developed Parental Control tools "that can be used to restrict who children interact with and which experiences they can access".
Parental controls are locked using a PIN, so a child won't be able to bypass these restrictions unless they have that number
You can also limit microtransactions which can cost parents thousands, without them knowing.
Microtransactions are when users exchange real money for virtual coins to buy in-game items.
If you have your child's username and password, you can set the account up so that you can monitor activity, which includes messaging, friend requests and experiences.
Roblox has a list of their parental controls designed to keep children safe here.
A response from Roblox
In a statement from Roblox, they said:
"We work tirelessly to maintain a platform that is safe, civil and welcoming for all. We have zero tolerance for sexual content or behaviour of any kind, and we take swift action against anyone found to be acting in breach of our Community Standards."
"We actively encourage users to report any content or behaviour that may make them feel uncomfortable using our Report Abuse feature, with a dedicated team who act on those reports."
"We also have specific systems and features to protect younger members of the Roblox community, including stricter chat filters applied to children under the age of 13, and a suite of Parental Control tools that can be used to restrict who children interact with and which experiences they can access."
