Roblox Unveils AI-Powered Mobile Game Development with 'Build'

Roblox has announced a new feature called 'Build' that allows users to create games directly from their mobile devices using AI. This is part of Roblox's continued investment in leveraging AI for game creation. The Build feature enables users to input simple text prompts to generate basic games, which they can then customize and share. - The system is powered by a broad set of AI models, including both open-source and proprietary Roblox models, to handle various game elements such as gameplay mechanics, visuals, sound, and more. - Similar AI-powered tools are being developed by companies like Google, Microsoft, and Tencent. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential for AI-driven game generation to lead to low-quality and repetitive games, increasing competitiveness on the platform. - The Game Developers Conference State of the Game Industry survey showed that 52% of industry professionals see generative AI negatively impacting the industry. - To maintain quality, Roblox plans to rank AI-generated games based on player retention, ensuring that low-engagement games are not prominently featured. - The Build feature will enter public alpha testing on July 28, available first in New Zealand for users aged nine and over who have verified their age. Users aged 16 and up can publish globally. - Roblox is also working on AI agents to assist in analytics and playtesting, and a scene-generation model to create 3D scenes from text prompts.

The announcement follows Roblox's plan to discontinue the Roblox Connect video-calling feature.