Yes, you read that headline correctly. Roblox, one of the most popular children's video games in the world, now wants to expand into "dating experiences" for its players, at least according to CEO David Baszucki in a keynote speech at the RDC 2023 conference for Roblox developers. Although mostly used as a platform for microtransaction-infested minigames chasing the latest meme, Baszucki seems bent on netting an older audience as well, and the first step is 17+ experiences where, apparently, "thousands of adults will meet for the first time in Roblox dating experiences and subsequently form real life relationships." The minimum age of entry being 17 as opposed to 18 is concerning in itself, but this is just one strange assertion in a speech full of them.
For reference, Baszucki also boldly declares that a school will incorporate a full K-12 curriculum in Roblox, Roblox themselves will implement a "universal civility metric", and a major fashion designer will be discovered in Roblox, all within the next five years. I'd love to live in his world, but it is true that Roblox has more than enough money to throw at all these lofty goals. The entire keynote is embedded below, with Baszucki's 'predictions' starting around the 1:40:00 mark.
My five-year prediction? The dating service will be shut down almost immediately after all the problems you'd expect from a dating app that allows childen onto it crop up.
