Roblox favors adult-focused games that boost 28-day retention

Roblox announced it updated its recommendation algorithm to favor games that retain players over a 28-day period and to surface more adult-focused titles. The company also increased DevEx payouts by 42% for U.S. players aged 18 and older.

John Ciancutti, Roblox’s Chief Growth Officer, said the platform replaced a seven-day window used by earlier recommendation systems with a 28-day window for the “Recommended For You” feed. He said the new approach places higher weight on how many days players return, total playtime and whether users leave after a single session.

The update follows an April program that raises the DevEx rate by 42% for spending by U.S. players aged 18 and older. Under DevEx, creators convert earned Robux into real money; the higher rate applies to spending by adult players in the U.S.

Vlad Loktev, Roblox’s Chief Creator Ecosystem Officer, said the higher DevEx rate is intended to “level the playing field for ambitious, high-quality games that keep players coming back for years.” He added Roblox will continue to provide creators with analytics so they can see where a game performs well and where it could improve.

Roblox’s catalog contains many short-lived meme games and rapid trends. The company said the new ranking is designed to give more visibility to longer-lived genres such as PvPvE base-builders, fighters and action-adventure titles, citing Fallen Survival, Dueling Grounds and Bloodlines as examples, and to reduce algorithmic preference for one-off viral hits such as Grow a Garden.

Roblox also introduced new account types for users under 16 and noted that proposed social media rules in the UK and other regulatory actions could affect how it manages younger users. Company executives said they will monitor retention metrics across the 28-day window and refine recommendations as they gather data on which games sustain daily and weekly returns over multiple weeks.