Roblox brings AI game creation to mobile

Roblox is adding a new mobile feature called Build that lets users create games from simple text prompts, without programming experience. Announced Thursday, the tool generates a basic playable game from a prompt such as, “Let’s make a cozy adventure game set in a dense forest,” then allows users to modify it and share it with friends.

In a blog post, the company said Build is powered by “a broad set of AI models,” including both open-source systems and proprietary Roblox models. According to Roblox, the feature can handle gameplay mechanics, environments, characters, visual style, sound, and more.

The move puts Roblox alongside companies including Google, Microsoft, and Tencent, which have also introduced similar game-generation tools. But the category remains controversial. Critics argue that lowering the barrier to game development with text prompts could flood platforms with low-quality, repetitive games, while increasing pressure on human creators competing against content that can be generated much faster.

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Those concerns line up with this year’s Game Developer Conference State of the Game Industry survey, which found that 52% of game industry professionals believe generative AI is having a negative impact on the industry.

To manage discoverability, Roblox said it will rank AI-generated games using the same kind of player-retention signals it already uses elsewhere on the platform. Games that fail to attract players will not be surfaced as prominently.

“Our discovery systems are designed to highlight games with long-term retention, which doesn’t include AI slop. The quality of games on the homepage isn’t changing: If no one plays it—no one can find it. The goal across these new tools is to continue to accelerate creation across all experience levels.”

Public alpha rollout and publishing rules

Build enters public alpha testing on July 28 and will initially be available in New Zealand to users aged nine and older who have verified their age. Users 16 and up will be able to publish their creations to a global audience. Roblox said there will be a free basic version as well as paid options.

The company is also developing AI agents to help creators with playtesting and analytics, with those tools expected in the coming months. The announcement adds to Roblox’s broader AI push, which already includes an AI foundation model for generating 3D game assets, an AI chatbot for developer support, and a new scene-generation model designed to create editable, playable 3D scenes from a single text prompt.

The launch also comes shortly after Roblox said it plans to shut down Roblox Connect, its avatar-based video calling feature introduced in 2023.