Roblox Launches AI Game Creation Tool for Phones
▼ Summary
– Roblox is launching a new AI feature called Build that allows users to create games from text prompts directly within the mobile app, starting with a public alpha in New Zealand on July 28th.
– Build handles gameplay mechanics, environments, characters, visual style, and sound, powered by Roblox’s own AI models and open-source models.
– Roblox claims games made with Build will be ranked by retention-based criteria, and that low-quality games won’t be promoted by its discovery systems.
– The initial Build version is free, but Roblox plans to introduce additional paid options for power users in the future.
– Roblox is developing new AI agents for Build and Studio, including playtesting, analytics, and experiment-running agents, to be released over the coming months.
Roblox is preparing to launch a mobile AI game creation tool, a move that could further flood a platform already known for its uneven content quality. The company has fully embraced artificial intelligence, previously teasing an ambitious AI world model reminiscent of Google’s Project Genie, a foundation model for generating 3D game assets, and an AI assistant chatbot for developers. The new tools announced today will make AI-powered game development far more accessible, though the rollout begins on a small scale.
The feature is called Build, which “brings mobile-first AI creation to Roblox, allowing anyone to turn text prompts into a basic game directly within the Roblox mobile app,” according to a company blog post. Build handles “gameplay mechanics, environment, characters, visual style, sound, and more,” relying on both Roblox’s proprietary AI models and open-source models.
Roblox frames Build as a tool for “rapid exploration and refinement of ideas.” Still, it is easy to see how drastically lowering the barrier to entry could lead to a surge of hastily produced games. However, the company insists that games created with Build will be judged by the same retention-based criteria as other Roblox experiences. Games that fail to attract an audience will theoretically be filtered out by Roblox’s discovery systems.
“Our discovery systems are designed to highlight games with long-term retention, which doesn’t include AI slop,” Roblox states. “The quality of games on the homepage isn’t changing: If no one plays it,no one can find it.”
Initially, Build will launch in public alpha on July 28th for users in New Zealand who are at least nine years old and have verified their age. Published games will be playable globally by users 16 and older. A “base-level” version of Build will be free, though “additional paid options for power users” are planned. Roblox has not yet shared specifics on pricing, with spokesperson Juliet Chaitin-Lefcourt telling The Verge that more details will come “as we continue to roll out to more regions in the coming months.”
In addition to Build, Roblox is developing new AI agents for developers, available in both Build and Studio. These include a playtesting agent, an analytics agent, and an agent that can run experiments to improve engagement, retention, and monetization. These tools will roll out over the “coming months.”
(Source: The Verge)
