Digital Risks and Coping Practices among Roblox Game Creators

Qiurong Song, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Xinning Gui, and Yubo Kou, The Pennsylvania State University

As a growing part of the creator economy, game platforms like Roblox enable millions of users to design, publish, promote, and monetize games. Alongside these opportunities, however, creators on such platforms face significant safety, privacy, and security risks. While prior work has examined online risks for content creators on social media platforms, little is known about the risk landscape of game creators. To address this gap, we interviewed 20 Roblox creators to understand how they perceive, experience, and cope with digital risks. Our analysis revealed five categories of risk—platform, production, organizational, community, and technical—that potentially compromise Roblox game creators' emotional, physical, relational, and financial safety. We also identified coping strategies such as negotiating for fairer pay and seeking community support. We conclude with recommendations for strengthening protections for game creators.

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