Roblox plans to take a cut of brand deals that developers sign for their experiences as part of an overhaul of its advertising policy, and some of those developers are already pushing back.

The gaming platform will roll out this revenue-share program for all ad integrations starting in January 2027, and says it’s doing this as part of a plan to introduce new tools and metrics to help creators, according to a post it shared through its Creator Hub forum on Friday.

It says the change is designed to stop the “race to the bottom” that exists on the platform, where developers aren’t charging premium prices for their brand deals. Roblox says creators are undercharging advertisers because they don’t have standardized measurement tools or price transparency on the platform. To solve this, Roblox is investing in new features like clear ad labels and aggregated ad measurement data. These features are aimed at encouraging creators to set higher prices for brand deals.

Roblox says this change will lead to creators earning more money, since it will help them report, measure and value advertising integrations in the same way it’s done on other platforms. Roblox says it’s working with creators to finalize the details of the revenue split and will share more in Q2.

Despite Roblox’s reassurances, the relationship between the platform and game makers “just took a visible hit” because of the change, said Sev Marcel, chief operating officer of kids media research and marketing firm We Are Family in a LinkedIn post over the weekend. Roblox is a key way for brands to reach kids, but this change will make the economics more complicated for creators, who can scarcely afford another hurdle to making money, she said.

“Platform revenue cuts are not new,” Marcel told Kidscreen. “Apple takes 30% from the App Store. Google does the same. But on those platforms, the cut comes from a transaction the platform is part of. A brand deal between a studio and a marketer has historically been a private commercial arrangement. Roblox now wants a piece of a deal it was never party to.”

“From where I sit, this is a moment for brands to pressure-test their gaming strategy,” she added. “Not to panic, not to pull spend, but to ask: Are we too concentrated on a single platform? Are we building brand equity inside gaming or just renting space? And do the developers we work with actually want to be there?”

Patrik Wilkens, VP of business development at digital media company TheSoul Publishing, didn’t mince words in his own post. “Roblox is taxing you because your brand relationships are actually working,” he wrote. “Because you built the audience, closed the deal and delivered the results. …For most standard Robux transactions, creators have historically kept around 30 cents on the dollar! Brand deals were the one category where they kept 100%.”

A Roblox spokesperson responded that a revenue share policy isn’t unusual, as many other platforms require them. “Creators still own their brand relationships and set their own pricing (a.k.a. do their own deals without Roblox involvement). They just have to disclose them and be aware they are subject to a rev share.” The spokesperson says the platform’s tools are about making brand integrations more predictable and helping brands feel confident investing larger budgets on Roblox. “The revenue share is a direct investment in the infrastructure required to scale the advertising integration ecosystem.”

And not every developer had a negative reaction to the news. Toronto-based Epic Story Media runs games in Roblox and develops them for third-party companies, and its CEO Ken Faier had a more balanced take. “Overall, it’s a dynamic platform and we understand that Roblox’s business model, their investments into safety and expanding player bases all come at a cost,” he says. “So, while some of this on the surface feels like a grab, it does make sense. Growing and maintaining the ecosystem is important for all. My personal take is that Roblox generally tries to do things to the benefit of all stakeholders and they are not a charity or not-for-profit.”

More ad changes

The new revenue-share rule is part of a broader update to Roblox’s ad policies, which will now allow age-appropriate advertising for users of all ages, including under-13s.

Starting May 4, creators and brands will be able to show age-appropriate ad formats, such as integrations, ads on the homepage and billboard ads, to kids. No rewarded advertising formats, such as avatar items or other rewards for completing an ad, will be permitted for users under 13. Certain brand categories, including food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and financial services, will remain banned for under-13s.

“All advertising formats on Roblox for U13 will be COPPA compliant and in line with industry best practices like other platforms (eg., YouTube Kids),” the Roblox post said. “New APIs & tooling will launch in April to help you automatically serve the correct ad formats to eligible audiences within your experience.”

There are more broad changes on the way, too. Developers will soon need to give all their assets for their campaigns to Roblox for review before they go live. Developers will also need to clearly disclose when content is an advertisement, using Roblox’s predetermined language to do so. And developers will also be required to implement ad experiences using Roblox’s Portal, a programmatic ad product which basically creates a doorway in the game world that users can interact with to teleport into the experience.

Image courtesy of Roblox.