Roblox Corp. has posted first-quarter user figures that missed market expectations following the introduction of stricter safety controls that limit how children use the platform, a group that makes up most of its audience.

The company also reduced its outlook for full-year bookings, a key revenue indicator, pointing to what it described as an aggressive effort to improve safety standards.

For several years, Roblox has been under pressure over concerns that bad actors have used the platform to target younger users, leading to multiple legal actions from state attorneys general. In response, the company has rolled out a wide range of safeguards, including age verification systems, which it said have affected growth momentum.

In its communication to shareholders, Roblox said that attracting new users had been slowed by stronger-than-expected challenges linked to the age-check rollout.

Daily active users reached 132 million, falling short of analyst forecasts of 143.8 million. Although this represents a 35 per cent rise compared with the same period last year, it is the second straight quarterly drop. Bookings totaled about A$2.6 billion, slightly below expectations of roughly A$2.65 billion.

The company has revised its annual projections to reflect ongoing pressure from these safety measures. It now expects bookings of up to A$11.4 billion, down from a previous estimate of as much as A$12.8 billion. Roblox has also indicated that user numbers may decline again in the next quarter.

Shares in the company dropped by around 21 per cent following the announcement.

Back in October, Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra noted that after a year boosted by two highly successful games, the company could face tougher comparisons in 2026, partly due to the impact of new safety policies.

From January, users who do not complete age verification may lose access to chat features, while accounts belonging to children under 9 have chat disabled by default.

Some analysts believe these measures introduce extra steps that may discourage sign-ups, but Roblox is taking a longer-term view, arguing that stronger protections could build trust among parents and support future growth.

Chief Executive Officer Dave Baszucki said during an earnings call that the company sees meaningful long-term benefits from these changes and highlighted the introduction of dedicated youth accounts as part of that strategy.

Towards the end of April, Roblox agreed to settlements worth about A$53.7 million with attorneys general in three states over child-safety concerns. Legal cases remain ongoing in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Iowa and Nebraska.

The platform continues to rely on popular games created by external developers to attract players, though analysts note that predicting the next breakout success remains difficult.

Baszucki also revealed plans for an internal project known as “Roblox Reality”, which aims to combine highly realistic visuals, multiplayer interaction and advanced human-like characters into a single shared digital environment.