SEC Says Game Service Roblox Part of ‘Active Investigation’

Roblox Corp., the video-game service used by millions of young people, is part of an active investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to information obtained by Bloomberg News.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, the commission said in a letter Friday that it couldn’t share correspondence between staffers referencing Roblox, saying it could cause “harm to the ongoing enforcement proceeding.”

“We have confirmed with Division of Enforcement staff that there are responsive emails between enforcement staff referencing Roblox and that these emails are a part of an active and ongoing investigation,” the commission said.

Bloomberg News couldn’t confirm the subject of the investigation. Roblox didn’t respond to requests for comment, and the SEC declined to make any additional comment.

Hunterbrook Media reported in November that Roblox was under investigation by the SEC, citing Freedom of Information Act requests. Hunterbrook cited an October letter from the commission saying it was withholding documents “which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement activities.” Its affiliate, Hunterbrook Capital, had a short position in the shares.

In October, the now-defunct short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report on child-safety concerns at Roblox and also alleged that the company had inflated its metrics, including the number of users who regularly play Roblox games and the amount of time they spend on average on the platform.

“We totally reject the claims made in the report,” a Roblox spokesperson said at the time. “The authors are, admittedly short sellers (and have an agenda irrespective of the substance of Roblox’s business model and results).”

Hindenburg Research announced it was disbanding in January.

Shares of Roblox retreated as much as 4.8 percent following the Bloomberg News report. They were down 2.4 percent to $65.53 at 2:33 p.m. in New York.

The video-game company has faced scrutiny over children’s safety on the platform. Since 2018, At least two dozen people have been arrested by police in the US, accused of abusing or abducting victims they’d met or groomed using Roblox, Bloomberg News reported in July.

In 2024, Roblox implemented at least 40 safety changes to its platform, including barring children under age 13 from participating in social chatting games. The San Mateo, California-based company has said safety is its priority. 

Shares of Roblox fell 11 percent on Thursday after the company reported slower-than-expected growth in daily users of its service. It reported 85.3 million active users as of year end.