Roblox sees decline in players as company brags it can import ‘any game’ with AI

Would you sign up to Roblox to play AI clones of other games? (Roblox) After taking down unofficial AI ports of other companies’ games, Roblox is now bragging that it has the capacity to clone them, in an attempt to attract older players. Thanks to generative AI, it’s become a trend to decompile existing games and get them running on other platforms and even web browsers; something that has sparked a new games division within Xbox and inevitable copyright takedowns. We can’t imagine most game developers are thrilled about it, especially indies who have already found their games being cloned through AI and released on marketplaces like Steam, making it harder for their original work to be discovered. Unofficial AI ports of games like Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead have also made their way onto Roblox and despite them being removed, the Roblox company itself sounds very excited about the potential of more AI clones. This is apparent from how much importance it places on generative AI tools in the company’s latest fiscal report (as spotted by Vertical Slice), but the most eye-catching part is an initiative referred to as the Universal Player. ‘Our Universal Player initiative includes the goal of enabling the capability to import any existing console, PC, or mobile game onto Roblox,’ explains the company, adding that such games would be further altered to support multiplayer, run on any device, and allow for monetisation. Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. This is part of a wider ploy to attract new users aged 18 years or older, no doubt so it can take advantage of those with a steady income and not just children spending pocket money: ‘In the U.S., O18 (over 18) users monetise 50%+ above U18 (under 18) users; as we grow our O18 audience, we expect overall monetization will improve.’ If you’re being generous, you can assume that Roblox is intending to approach developers and publishers to convince them to allow their games to be ported onto the Roblox platform in this fashion. Although they haven’t actually said that’s the case. They obviously can’t allow Roblox users to copy existing games wholesale because that’s just a copyright nightmare that would subject the company to serious legal trouble. However, it’s hard to imagine any of the big-name publishers agreeing to such a deal, regardless of their stance on AI. You don’t need to be Nostradamus to predict how Nintendo or Rockstar Games, let alone anyone else, would react if they found their games being cloned on Roblox. Sony and Microsoft, meanwhile, are currently doing what they can to bring more players to their respective consoles, as evidenced by Sony pulling out of the PC market and Microsoft pivoting back to Xbox exclusives. Some indie developers who aren’t as anti-AI as others might agree if Roblox offers a big enough cheque, but naturally they wouldn’t be as big of a draw. That may not necessarily work anyway, since the audience for traditional premium video games is completely different to the Roblox audience. Why would a GTA 6 fan, for example, want to play an AI copy of it on Roblox if they already have the game on PlayStation 5? And if they don’t own GTA 6, then why would they be any more interested in an AI replica? Even so, Roblox seems to be banking on this, among other AI initiatives, to bolster its user base. By Roblox’s own admission, daily active users for the last quarter (July to September) were 138 million, which is 9% less than they were the previous year. The total hours spent on the platform also declined by 15% to $34 billion. Those are still big numbers, but any drop is going to cause some concern within the company, especially since it expects its daily user counts to keep falling for the rest of the year, which it describes as a ‘seasonal decline’ in line with previous years. Roblox did just add an officially licensed Yakuza game but it’s its own thing and not an AI copy of an existing game (Sega) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: PS5 console sales after six years are stronger than PS4 and PS3 Arrow MORE: No more Assassin’s Creed remakes says Ubisoft as Hexe gets new update Arrow MORE: New Nintendo Switch 2 bundle saves you £134 – includes Mario Kart and more GameCentral Get the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.