Roblox adds AI game creation to its mobile app

Roblox is putting AI game creation inside its mobile app, a move that could widen who builds on the platform and increase the amount of content competing for player attention. For investors watching Roblox, the feature matters because creation tools, game discovery and player engagement all feed into how the platform grows.

The company said Thursday it is introducing Build, a feature that lets users describe a game in text and receive a playable starting point. Generative AI, meaning software that creates new content from a user prompt, will be used to assemble the early version of the experience.

Roblox said a user could ask for a cozy adventure game in a forest, then edit the first version and share it with friends. According to the company, Build uses a mix of open-source AI models and Roblox’s own models to create gameplay systems, settings, characters, art style, audio and other parts of a game.

The feature lowers the skill barrier for Roblox creation. A user does not need to know how to code to make an initial game, according to Roblox. That is a meaningful shift for a platform built around user-made experiences, where creator output helps keep players spending time inside Roblox.

Roblox is not the only large tech or gaming company working on AI-assisted game generation. Google, Microsoft and Tencent have developed similar tools, according to TechCrunch. The broader push has also drawn criticism from developers and players who worry that text-based game generation could fill platforms with repetitive or lower-quality games.

The concern is not abstract. The Game Developer Conference’s 2026 State of the Game Industry survey found that 52% of game industry professionals said generative AI is hurting the industry. For Roblox, more creation could mean more variety, but it also puts more pressure on the systems that decide which games users actually see.

Roblox said it plans to use player retention to rank games made with Build, the same approach it uses for other experiences on the platform. Retention means whether players come back to a game over time. Roblox said games that fail to attract play will not receive the same visibility in its discovery systems.

Build is scheduled to enter public alpha testing on July 28. A public alpha is an early test version made available outside the company before a wider launch. Roblox said the test will be available in New Zealand to users age 9 and older who have verified their age. Users age 16 and older will be able to publish their Build-made experiences globally.

The company said Build will have a free basic version as well as paid options. Roblox did not provide further pricing details in the announcement.

Roblox is also developing AI agents for creators, according to the company. These tools are expected in the coming months and are intended to help with playtesting and analytics, which means testing how a game works and reviewing data on how players use it.

The Build launch fits into a wider AI strategy at Roblox. The company has already worked on an AI foundation model for 3D game assets, an AI assistant for developers, and a scene-generation model that Roblox says can create editable, playable 3D scenes from one text prompt.

The announcement follows Roblox’s disclosure that it will shut down Roblox Connect, its avatar-based video calling feature introduced in 2023.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.