The ban on certain video games by countries worldwide is nothing new, with mobile games like PUBG Mobile especially coming under the scanner and making international news. However, a title like Roblox coming under the hammer is a little more surprising, although the voices of dissent against it have been pretty loud since it blew up during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown era.
But that is the reality of the title in Turkey, with the government claiming it "exploits children" with illegitimate practices after issuing a nationwide ban on the game-creation platform, thus blocking access for all users and creators indefinitely. There were also concerns regarding inappropriate content, as per Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, who added that despite being a country that closely follows worldwide developments and makes the best use of technology, its negative use is never acceptable.
Roblox has been blocked in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/slVdZfIREV
— Bloxy News (@Bloxy_News) August 7, 2024
A Turkish Directorate of Communications official was also quoted as saying that there was a lack of direct content regulation, which encouraged them to ban Roblox in the country. Moreover, government officials were worried that the game hosted virtual parties that promoted pedophilia and that Robux, the platform’s virtual currency, was being circulated by bot accounts to encourage children's involvement in these activities, leading to an excessive presence of gambling sites and resulting predatory tactics.
Unsurprisingly, fans of the game quickly took to social media to share their thoughts, with many unhappy with the suddenness of the decision. This is because thousands of Roblox users come up with unique content they can monetize to earn money, and the suspension could affect this funding.
That the government didn't state whether this ban is temporary or permanent has added to the uncertainty and dissatisfaction among fans and users in Turkey. This move, which came after another controversial move to block Instagram nationwide, has furthered discussions around digital freedom and content moderation practices within the country.
Readers must remember that the game has received quite a lot of flak for not protecting a user base largely consisting of young players. It has also been criticized for not having strong enough safeguards against mature material and for benefitting from child labor by not rewarding and crediting its young creators, who are responsible for most of the numerous popular mini-games on the platform.
Moreover, Roblox has previously faced a class action lawsuit for not compensating consumers who spent Robux on virtual objects that ended up getting deleted (moderated) later from the platform. The company had to establish a $10 million settlement fund as part of the ensuing deal that saw customers meeting the criteria getting credited immediately with this virtual currency to their accounts.
How's Roblox doing in live-streaming?
As per Streams Charts' database, Roblox Corporation's offering just saw its best month when looking at watch time on Twitch since October 2021, hitting 6.27M Hours Watched in July 2024. There were a few reasons for this sudden surge, with one being the caliber of streamers playing the game last month, including prominent names like KreekCraft and CaseOh.
The German star busied himself playing a lot of Dress To Impress, one of the games within the Roblox universe that has gone viral recently. American YouTuber KreekCraft, meanwhile, set off on a challenge to reach 10 million subscribers on his channel, and towards the end of July, he reached that milestone, celebrating it with a live stream.
Roblox also announced a new event — The Games — that involves teams battling each other with various weapons and upgrades across an arena packed with enemies. Winning players will be rewarded for completing quests and earning badges by finishing challenges in 50 unique experiences. It began on August 1 and will go on till August 11, but the hype for the exercise saw many participants and content creators take to the game to get a taste of what viewers can expect.
Roblox has also been among the 20 most popular games on Twitch since 2020 (by peak viewership), which is when it witnessed a renewed wave of fame. It has done better in this regard than many iconic titles, including World of Warcraft, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Diablo IV, and Elden Ring.
However, among Turkish audiences, Roblox has not really been the most preferred title over the last four and a half-odd years. It has only accrued 1.66M Hours Watched and 36.4K Peak Viewers, putting it outside the top 50 games on both counts, with the leaders being prominent esports games like Valorant, League of Legends, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Counter-Strike, apart from the evergreen Grand Theft Auto V and the likes of Cyberpunk 2077.
The Riot Games agent-shooter is especially famous in this country, with teams like BBL and FF enjoying massive followings. That is because these esports organizations were founded by renowned streamers like wtcN and Mithrain, which helps attract a relatively young audience base to a game geared toward such a demographic.
Among Turkish Roblox streamers this year, the likes of hype, BenFatiK, ShiroBahoo, and Harika Panda have emerged as the most watched. Kick’s hype has especially been successful in reaching a larger viewer base thanks to content that involves not just playing this game but also other titles during the same broadcast.
The competitive aspect is also a major reason for these titles enjoying high popularity not only in Turkey but across the world. It is also why offerings like Roblox enjoy more niche followings among viewers and players globally, helped by the creative element and the fact that anything can be replicated on this platform.
There have also been occasional esports ventures conducted by diehard fans and streamers, like Copa Roblox. This competitive football tournament, organized by Brazilian Twitch streamer Santos Masinha in September 2023, went viral and attracted some big broadcasting names, pushing it to the top of the purple live-streaming services charts among Portuguese-speaking audiences for that week.
Getting back to the ban, in a statement to BBC, Roblox's officials said:
"We are aware that Roblox is currently unavailable in Turkey, and we have contacted the relevant authorities to find out why and make sure we are back online as soon as possible."
Whether the game can sort things out with the Turkish government and ensure a smooth return remains to be seen. For now, it has joined social media platforms like Twitch and Kick in receiving federal bans that came due to controversies involving gambling streams.
