Roblox Responds to Report That Claims It Inflates Player Numbers by up to 42%

As a seasoned gamer who has spent countless hours immersed in virtual worlds, I must say I’m finding myself rather concerned about the latest report surrounding Roblox. The allegations of inflating player numbers and the apparent ease with which adult content can be accessed by underage users are certainly troubling.

In response to a report suggesting that Roblox might artificially boost its player count, the company asserts that the figures could be overstated by up to 42%.

According to a report by Hindenberg Research, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, there have been allegations that Roblox has artificially boosted its player count by up to 42% since 2021. The claims stem from research conducted through interviews with several ex-employees of Roblox.

According to Hindenberg’s findings, Roblox’s safety measures intended to protect children from adult content appear ineffective. By creating a new account with an age under 13, the research firm encountered ease in discovering adult content simply by searching for “adult” on the platform. Shockingly, they reported finding one group openly dealing and soliciting inappropriate acts towards minors, including trading child pornography.

In response to the report, Roblox issued the following statement,

“Safety and civility have been foundational to Roblox since the company’s inception nearly two decades ago, and the company has invested heavily throughout its history in its Trust & Safety efforts. Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox, abiding by the company’s Community Standards. Roblox takes any content or behavior on the platform that doesn’t abide by its standards extremely seriously, and Roblox has a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on the platform.”

Regarding accusations about inflated player numbers, Roblox asserts that the financial allegations put forth by Hindenburg are misleading. Furthermore, they mention that the writers are short sellers, which means they profit from a decrease in the stock price, and therefore may have an agenda disregarding the authenticity of Roblox’s business model and performance.

In simpler terms, Roblox explains how they calculate their Daily Active Users (DAUs). A DAU is a user who logs into Roblox on a unique account through either the website or app on a specific calendar day. If a user visits more than once in a 24-hour period that spans two days, they are only counted as a DAU for the first day. The average of these DAUs over a certain period gives you the DAUs for that timeframe. For instance, the DAUs for September would be the average of the DAUs throughout that month.

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