As of June 16, 2026, Roblox is no longer one platform. The company split its experience into three age-based Roblox accounts, and the one most players land in is Roblox Select. Designed for users aged 9 to 15, it sits between the locked-down Roblox Kids accounts for younger children and the standard accounts for those 16 and older. These new accounts changed the platform overnight. If your child suddenly found a game missing from their catalog or their chat settings changed this month, this is why. Here is what Roblox Select is and how it works.
Roblox Select is an age-based account type for users aged 9 to 15, automatically assigned by Roblox based on its age-check systems. It is the middle tier of a new three-account structure introduced to align game access, chat features, and parental controls with a user's age. It launched globally on June 16, 2026, following an initial rollout in early June across Australia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Players do not choose this account type manually. Roblox places each user automatically, and the system progresses them through different ages. A child on a Roblox Kids account is moved up to a Roblox Select account when they turn 9, and a Select user is moved to a standard account when they turn 16. Age-checked users 16 and older see no change to their Roblox experience at all. As Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer at Roblox, put it, the goal is age-based protections that support younger users at different stages while giving parents tools to personalize the experience. The shift represents the most significant safety overhaul in the platform's 20-year history, affecting a user base where more than half of daily active users are under 16.
The two younger tiers differ mainly in content breadth and communication. The new Roblox Kids accounts, for ages 5 to 8, carry the strictest default settings, with chat disabled by default and limited game access restricted to titles with content maturity labels of Minimal or Mild. Roblox Select accounts expand that catalog to include games rated up to Moderate and open up chat features gradually as the user ages, always with safeguards parents can adjust. Each account type also carries a distinct visual treatment so the tier is easy to identify. Both exclude games featuring sensitive issues, social hangouts, and free-form drawing by default.
Chat on a Roblox Select account is available with built-in safeguards, but only after a user completes an age check. Chat access increases gradually by age within the 9 to 15 range, and parents can adjust the standard chat settings for their child at any point until they turn 16.
The age-check requirement is the critical gate here. Users who have not completed an age check cannot chat on Roblox at all, regardless of the age they declare, and they cannot access the full Roblox experience. A self-declared 9-year-old who skips verification is placed into a Select account with chat switched off entirely. Where chat is enabled, built-in text filters apply and communication is limited to users in the same or similar age groups, including party chat with trusted friends. Age checks can be completed through secure facial age estimation or government-issued ID verification, both found in the Account Info section of the settings menu. Roblox has never allowed images or videos in chat, and as of this update, social media links are only shareable or viewable by age-checked users 16 and older across profiles, game detail pages, and the Creator Hub.
Games available on Roblox Select are those with a clear content maturity rating up to Moderate that have passed Roblox's selection process. According to Roblox, age-checked users under 16 will still have access to the vast majority of their favorite select games. In the U.S., available titles include popular games like Grow a Garden, Driving Empire, and How to Train Your Dragon.
The selection process goes well beyond standard moderation systems. Each game starts with a standard safety review and a developer maturity questionnaire, then must clear additional reviews including developer verification, real-time evaluation, and enhanced content review before entering the Roblox Select catalogs. To keep games visible to younger users, developers must complete additional requirements such as ID verification, two-factor authentication, and a refundable publishing fee, on top of the existing asset scanning that every upload already passes. Games with social hangout features, free-form drawing, or sensitive issues are excluded by default, even if otherwise mildly rated. The result is a dynamically updated catalog of games that Roblox evaluates in real time, meaning a title can be removed after launch if it stops meeting the criteria rather than passing a one-time check.
Parents who link their account to a child's Roblox Select account gain a full suite of controls. A verified parent can adjust content ratings, manage communication settings, set screen time and spending limits, approve or block specific games and friends, and view their child's gameplay activity and friends list.
The linked-account system is the central tool Roblox is promoting to families. Once connected, parents can see which games their child plays, how long they play, and who they are friends with, and they can correct their child's age so the system places them in the right account tier. A child's default account is set automatically by age group, but a verified parent can override the standard chat settings as the child matures, keeping what Roblox describes as the parent in the driver's seat through the entire 9 to 15 window.
The timing of Roblox Select is not coincidental. Roblox faces significant legal and regulatory pressure over child safety, including consolidated family lawsuits in federal court, separate suits from several state attorneys general, and bans in markets like Turkey and Egypt tied to child-safety concerns. The new age-based system directly addresses many of the core criticisms behind that pressure.
Roblox has positioned the rollout as the culmination of a multi-year push by its safety systems that already made it the first major gaming platform to require facial age checks for chat access. The company reports that over half of its global daily users, and roughly two-thirds of U.S. users, have already completed an age check. As one member of Roblox's Global Parent Council noted, pairing built-in safeguards with parental tools makes it easier for families to stay engaged as children grow. Later in 2026, Roblox plans to transition to the International Age Rating Coalition framework, the globally recognized standard method for rating digital games, replacing its in-house labels with familiar regional ratings like ESRB in the U.S. and PEGI in Europe. Parents can find guidance through the Roblox Safety Center. For families, the practical takeaway is simple. If a player is between 9 and 15, Roblox Select is now their default home on the platform, and completing an age check is what unlocks its full experience before they graduate to a standard Roblox account at 16.
You cannot manually switch to Roblox Select. Roblox automatically assigns your account type based on your verified age, so completing an age check through facial age estimation or ID verification in the Account Info settings is the only step. Players aged 9 to 15 are placed into Roblox Select automatically.
If you believe you are in the wrong tier, the fix is correcting your age rather than changing the account directly. A verified parent can update a child's birthdate through linked parental controls, and the system then moves the user into the correct account. There is no upgrade button, no application, and no fee. Account placement follows the age check, full stop.
Users do not switch between Roblox Kids and Roblox Select manually. The transition happens automatically based on age. A Roblox Kids user, aged 5 to 8, is moved into a Roblox Select account when they turn 9, and a Select user moves to a standard account at 16.
This automatic progression is core to how the system works. Roblox describes the accounts as designed to grow with the user, gradually expanding content access and chat features at each stage. The only way the tier changes outside of normal aging is if a verified parent corrects an inaccurate birthdate, which reassigns the account to match the child's real age. Parents cannot place a younger child into a higher tier than their age allows.
Developers should know that to keep games visible to Roblox Select users, they must complete additional requirements including ID verification, two-factor authentication, an active subscription, a refundable publishing fee, and an account in good standing. Games must also clear a three-step content review beyond standard moderation.
The selection criteria are strict. Games featuring social hangouts, free-form drawing, or sensitive issues are excluded from the Kids and Select catalogs by default, even with an otherwise mild rating. Roblox evaluates titles in real time, so a game can be filtered out after launch if it stops meeting the standards. Developers targeting under-16 reach should audit their games against the excluded categories and confirm their verification and publishing requirements are complete to avoid losing catalog visibility.
You can find official documentation about Roblox Select in the Roblox Newsroom at about.roblox.com, the Roblox Safety Center, and the Roblox Creator Hub for developer-specific requirements. The Business Wire press release from June 16, 2026 also details the global launch and account structure.
For the most authoritative and current information, the Roblox Newsroom posts from April, May, and June 2026 walk through the account tiers, age ranges, content rating system, and parental controls in full. Parents should start with the Safety Center, while developers should consult the Creator Hub and the Creator documentation for the publishing requirements and selection criteria that govern catalog visibility for Kids and Select accounts.
Alex Castellari · Editor
Editor
