According to a letter dated December 21, 2023, from Roblox Founder and CEO David Baszucki, the year has been significant for Roblox. Baszucki highlights substantial progress towards reimagining how people connect through innovative technologies that facilitate richer forms of communication, creation, and immersion. In Q3 of this year, Roblox recorded 70.2 million daily active users, a 20 percent increase from the same period last year, with users collectively spending 16 billion hours on the platform for various activities. Baszucki emphasizes Roblox’s commitment to safety amid its growth.
However, despite these achievements, Roblox is currently facing a class-action lawsuit initiated by concerned parents. Allegations of sexual content and grooming on the gaming platform have raised serious concerns about the safety of its young user base.
Roblox, a leading gaming platform for children over the past 20 years, has gained control over a unique, unregulated platform tailored for youth gaming and creation. Recently, concerns have arisen about the infiltration of “sexual material” and “sexual grooming” into the minds and homes of children through Roblox. The platform is accused of misrepresenting itself as safe to parents, with incidents reported involving explicit activities, inappropriate messages, and grooming tactics.
While Baszucki maintains a positive image for his platform, another CEO, Brent Dusing, is taking a different approach. Dusing, a Christian CEO, created TruPlay as a healthier and safer alternative for children. TruPlay offers an entertainment platform where parents need not fear exposure to graphic and sexually explicit content. The platform incorporates games, positive themes, values, and biblical truth throughout its stories and dialogues.
Pew Research Center reports that only 11 percent of Generation Alpha and X believe in God. Recognizing this statistic, Dusing created TruPlay with the intention of spreading God’s word, addressing the absence of religious education in schools. TruPlay is designed for different age groups, playable across various devices, and suitable for families.
In contrast to Roblox’s void of “Obby’s,” TruPlay offers substance and a platform where children not only have fun but also learn about God’s word. TruPlay’s games are interactive, truly safe, regulated, and boast graphics surpassing Roblox’s blocky appearance. The platform includes action games, adventure games, puzzles, interactive comics, and more, accessible for a monthly fee of five dollars.
One example of TruPlay’s gaming content is the recently released “Benjamin and The Armor of Logos,” where players must complete a mission by finding all the pieces of the Armor of Logos while battling an evil queen. Success in the quest relies on the power of prayer, delivered only by God.
TruPlay’s mission is to “transform generations of children in such a profound way that it will shape culture,” a goal distinctly different from that of Roblox. With an increasing number of youth lacking faith, Dusing’s creation of TruPlay stands out as a noteworthy accomplishment. In the face of constant and far-reaching battles between good and evil, TruPlay exemplifies a genuine effort to overcome evil with good, aligning with Romans 12:21, which urges not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good.
Brittany Stewart, an accomplished writer and educator, draws inspiration from her 23-year marriage and upbringing near Lake Tahoe in Verdi, Nevada, now residing in Tucson, Arizona. With her Bachelor’s degree in Education, emphasizing Native American Literature and Journalism, Brittany is a multifaceted professional who is also a Licensed Massage Therapist. She is deeply involved in Tucson’s homeschooling community, leading a homeschool group, teaching dance, and offering art classes. She and her family have a homestead in Southern Arizona, where her husband hunts and she tends to the garden, emphasizing the importance of God and family in her life while continually seeking adventure through her travels.