December 11, 2025

Game Over for Roblox?


Game Over for Roblox?
Children playing Roblox in front of a television. Henry Burrows, Wikimedia Commons.

On December 3, Russia officially banned the online video game Roblox, one of the world's most popular games for kids, for "propagating materials of extremist tendencies and LGBT propaganda themes."

Roblox is Russia's most downloaded game, with over 10 million people installing it on their devices. It's estimated that 7 million people played the video game every day in Russia. On the platform, gamers create their own game or join one of the tens of millions of existing rooms available. Roblox is known for being a social game where players can chat with each other in groups or privately, and even engage in voice conversations.

On December 3, Russian users started reporting that Roblox was not working. Later that day, Roskomnadzor confirmed the gaming platform had been blocked in Russia. A representative of the government agency said, "The gaming space contains a large amount of inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children, creating conditions and preconditions for illegal activities."

Roblox has faced international backlash over concerns about cyberbullying and children's safety against groomers. The game has also faced criticism for containing material inappropriate for young audiences. Turkey, Qatar, and Iraq have blocked access to Roblox in their territories over this issue.

Roblox has become a public square, thus drawing the government's attention. Kids have attended pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE protests on the platform. There is a game within Roblox that deals with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China blocked the game, saying it propagated "anti-Communist propaganda."

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, gaming companies such as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft left the country's market. However, Roblox continued to operate in Russia. In July, Roskomnadzor had ordered the American company to restrict games that contained "LGBT" in their name and remove queer characters. Roblox complied

Russian gamers didn't stay silent. Shortly after the ban was announced, the hashtag #vernitieroblox ("bring back Roblox") trended across Russian social media. Petitions calling for Roskomnadzor to restore access to the game have widely circulated online. Gamers have complained that they lost money on recent in-game purchases they had made on Roblox. Other users have claimed to have "psychological damage" due to the game's ban.

Roblox can still be accessed using a VPN. However, the banned Russian media outlet Meduza warned that children could be vulnerable to scammers who offer them alternatives to the game.

You Might Also Like

Dial-a-Putin
  • December 07, 2025

Dial-a-Putin

Russian citizens are invited to submit questions for 2025's "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" television program.
Property Lost, Entry Denied
  • December 02, 2025

Property Lost, Entry Denied

Thousands of Ukrainians are having their homes in Mariupol stolen from them by the Russian state.
Pigeon-Drones are Here
  • December 04, 2025

Pigeon-Drones are Here

A Russian company introduced biodrones: pigeons with chip implants in their brains and surveillance cameras.
A Pretty Penny to Park
  • November 30, 2025

A Pretty Penny to Park

Across Russia, the prices of parking spots are rising faster than the prices of housing.
Last Setos of Russia
  • November 27, 2025

Last Setos of Russia

An ancient borderland culture struggles as its last villages empty out.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955