Roblox is an online gaming platform that allows users to create, share, and play games developed by other users. Hugely popular among children and adolescents, Roblox has millions of players worldwide and is a central part of many young people’s daily lives.
The lawsuit alleges that Roblox has been intentionally or negligently designed to be addictive, particularly for minors, and that the company failed to warn players or their parents of these risks. Many children are reported to have developed unhealthy dependencies on Roblox, resulting in harm to their mental, emotional, physical, and social well-being.
Concerns about gaming addiction are not new. In 2018, the World Health Organization officially recognized “gaming disorder” as a diagnosable condition in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), later approved by the World Health Assembly in 2019. Similarly, the American Psychiatric Association included “internet gaming disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013; DSM-5-TR, 2022) as a condition warranting further study. Both classifications describe gaming addiction as a behavioural pattern severe enough to significantly impair personal, family, social, educational, or occupational functioning.
Research has identified numerous warning signs of gaming addiction, including preoccupation with games, withdrawal when gaming is restricted, tolerance (needing to play longer to achieve satisfaction), inability to cut back, loss of interest in other activities, deception about gaming habits, and continued use despite negative consequences such as social conflict, declining academic performance, or financial strain.
The impact of gaming addiction can be wide-ranging. Reported symptoms include anxiety, depression, irritability, impaired concentration, sleep disturbances, vision problems, poor posture, repetitive strain injuries, weight fluctuations, social isolation, family conflict, decreased self-esteem, and diminished academic or occupational performance.
A class action is a legal case through which one person makes a claim to the Court on behalf of a similarly situated class of people who have the same or a similar legal claim. A class action seeks to hold a defendant or defendants responsible for their conduct that affects each member of the class by resolving issues that are common to the class in the same legal proceeding, instead of each class member bringing a claim individually.
The individual who first files the claim must ask the Court for permission to proceed as a class action. If permission is granted (referred as “authorized” in Quebec, and “certified” in all other Canadian provinces) and the case may proceed as a class action, the Court will appoint an individual as “Representative Plaintiff” to represent the best interests of the class during the litigation and will define the class group. Each person who meets the criteria of the class group is considered a “Class Member”.
This proposed class action seeks to represent all individuals who claim to have become addicted to Roblox and all individuals who purchased Robux or paid to join Roblox Premium while under the age of majority.
If you think that you or someone you know has developed an addiction to Roblox, please fill out the contact form on this webpage.
