Roblox has lowered its full-year 2026 bookings forecast by roughly $1 billion, tying the cut to safety changes that are now affecting how people communicate and join the platform.
In its Q1 2026 shareholder letter, Roblox said it now expects 2026 bookings between $7.33 billion and $7.6 billion. Its previous forecast had put the range at $8.28 billion to $8.55 billion, according to CNBC, which reported that Roblox shares fell 18% on Friday after the update.
The sharp reset came despite a strong first quarter on the surface. Roblox reported 132 million daily active users for the first three months of 2026, up 35% from a year earlier, alongside about $1.7 billion in bookings, up 39% year over year.
Age checks are now a growth problem
Roblox has been rolling out mandatory age checks for chat as part of a wider safety push. The company said the change has created bigger short-term pressure than expected by restricting on-platform communication for users who have not completed age checks, diluting communication for verified users and slowing new user acquisition.
Roblox framed the trade-off as deliberate. In the shareholder letter, the company said the safety work lowers its expectations for 2026 topline growth but makes the platform better over the long term through safer communication, more effective content targeting and improved community sentiment.
That puts Roblox in a difficult spot. The company is still growing quickly, but its core social loop depends on players being able to talk, play and discover experiences together. If safety controls reduce chat access or make onboarding harder, bookings can take a hit even while the platform continues adding users.
The pressure is also landing while online game companies face heavier scrutiny over child safety and age verification. Roblox has been dealing with legal action over child safety claims, and CNBC reported that the company faces more than 140 federal lawsuits accusing it of failing to prevent child exploitation. The platform also reached settlements with Alabama and West Virginia last month for a combined $23.2 million, according to the same report.
Those fights are part of a wider policy shift around online games. A recent New York age-check bill showed how lawmakers are looking at chat restrictions and identity checks beyond any one platform.
Roblox's updated forecast makes that tension harder to ignore. The platform is trying to prove that stricter safety systems can protect younger users without weakening the social features that helped make Roblox one of gaming's biggest daily destinations.