Roblox Wants to Be a Dating Platform - That's a Terrible Idea
In what feels like the most baffling pivot since RadioShack rebranded as a Crypto exchange, Roblox CEO David Baszucki has announced his ambitions for the platform to double as a virtual dating space for adults.
Yes, that Roblox.
The same platform that's home to millions of children building obstacle courses, roleplaying as pets, and arguing about who gets to be the mom in Bloxburg. The same Roblox that made international headlines for grooming cases, moderation failures, and exploitative monetization. That Roblox now wants to be the next Hinge. For grown adults. In virtual avatars.
Let's unpack why this is a terrible idea.
Roblox is, at it's Core, a Children's Platform
Despite Roblox's recent push to cater to "older" audiences through age-verified experiences and mature content, the reality is this: Roblox is still massively dominated by users under 18. Official reports claim the majority of users are under 18, but let's be real: even those numbers are likely conservative. Anyone who's been on the internet for five minutes knows most kids will lie about their age to bypass restrictions.
The Safety Risks Are Too Great
Baszucki frames this idea as a solution to the "loneliness epidemic"—a noble-sounding goal. But the risks involved are catastrophic, especially in a platform where age verification is still shaky at best.
All it takes is one underage user with access to their parent’s ID to slip through Roblox’s verification system and enter what is essentially a virtual singles mixer. And we’ve already seen what can go wrong: it was just months ago that a 10-year-old was reportedly kidnapped by a 27-year-old man they met through Roblox.
Adding adult dating features into that ecosystem isn't just irresponsible. It’s dangerous.
Literally No One Asked For This
There’s nothing wrong with dating apps for adults. But no adult is opening up their iPad, launching Roblox, and saying, “Yeah, this is where I want to find love.” Roblox as a dating app is like trying to cook dinner in a bounce house.
If adults are hesitant about real-life dating, there are already platforms like Bumble, Hinge, and even VRChat that offer low-stakes ways to connect. Roblox is not only unfit for this—it’s unwanted. This is a solution looking for a problem.
Final Thoughts
I've been playing Roblox since I was 7 years old. I've watched it grow from a janky building game into a global platform — a place where kids could create, play, and imagine whatever they wanted. It was never perfect, but it was ours.
And that's why this stings.
Roblox was built by and for young people. It thrived because it gave us tools to make our own worlds — not because it catered to whatever adult tech executives thought would be the next billion-dollar idea. Trying to turn it into a dating platform not only ignores the actual user base, it actively puts them at risk. The platform still struggles with moderation, safety, and exploitation — and instead of addressing those urgent issues, Roblox wants to add romantic mixers and movie dates?
It’s out of touch. It’s unsafe. And it’s honestly insulting to everyone who grew up with Roblox and still cares about what it could be.
Roblox doesn’t need to become Tinder. It needs to become safer, fairer, and better for the young people it was made for.
