Create and publish games and places

When you open Studio and create a new game, your project starts with a single place that players load into when they first join the game. Games can have one or multiple places that each contain all components for that portion of the game, including its specific environment, 3D objects, and scripts.

Many creators create additional places within a game to organize assets for different gameplay areas. For example, if you want players to join a dungeon before teleporting to either a vast desert or spooky island, you can organize the assets for each area into their own place.

Every place is represented by a data model that stores and organizes:

• All objects that make up the 3D world of a place, such as its parts, meshes, terrain, and lighting.
• All objects that can control runtime behavior, such as scripts.

Understanding both the general structure of a place's data model, and how the Roblox engine uses it as the source of truth for a place's state is important for understanding where to store and configure different types of objects. For more information, see data model.

Create games

When you create a new game, it opens a start place that all players will load into when they join the game. The start place represents the overall game until you add additional places for different gameplay areas.

To create a game:

1. Open Studio.

2. In the Open a Template section, select a template with the objects you want to start working with for your game, such as:

   • Baseplate — Starts with a SpawnLocation and a baseplate.
   • Platformer — Starts with customizable platforms, coin pickups, and double-jump, dashing, rolling, and long jump character mechanics!
   • Racing — Starts with a working racecar and customizable track objects.

When Studio opens up the template, you now have Place1 that represents your overall game.

Publish games

When you publish a game, Roblox stores the data model of your start place as a .rblx file in the cloud. This is an important process because it connects the game to your account, allowing you to access and work on it from any computer.

By default, new games are only accessible to you as the creator, users with Edit access, and group members with the appropriate roles and permissions. When you are ready to go live to everyone, you can release your game to the public and specify your target audience.

To publish a game for the first time:

1. In the top-left corner of your computer, navigate to File > Publish. The Game details window displays.

   

2. In the window:

   1. Upload an icon and thumbnail to display on your game's main details page.
   2. In the Name field, input the name of your game.
   3. Set Genre and the optional Subgenre dropdown menus to what type of gameplay players should expect. For more information, see Genres.
   4. In the Description field, provide a summary of what players can expect from your game.
   5. Click the Save button. Roblox publishes your game to the cloud with a unique UniverseID.

   

3. OPTIONAL

   You can invite early testers to preview your game.

Create additional places

After you have published your game, you can add additional places for different gameplay areas. To create a new place within an existing game:

1. Open an existing place file or create a new place from any Studio template.
2. Select File > Publish As.
3. In the Publish Experience window, click the tile for the game you'd like to add the place to.
4. Select Add as a new place, then click Create.

Whether you choose to have a single, large place or many smaller places is mostly personal preference. For more information, see Design for performance - Streaming and teleportation.

Change start place

The start place of a game cannot be instantly swapped with another place, but you can overwrite the current start place.

To change the start place:

1. OPTIONAL

   Save your current start place to a .rbxl file or to a new place within the game.

2. Navigate to the Creator Dashboard and select the game with the start place that you want to change.

3. In the left-hand navigation, navigate to Configurations > Places.

4. Click Edit in Studio for the intended new start place. Studio opens and loads that specific place.

   

5. In the top-left corner of Studio, go to File > Publish As.

   Do not select Publish as this would publish the place over itself.

6. Click the tile for the same game, then choose the current start place. Click Overwrite.

   

7. OPTIONAL

   If the game is live, it's recommended that you restart its servers.

Invite early testers

You can invite up to 10 similar-aged friends to preview your game while you're building it. This allows you to get early feedback before you release your game publicly and receive a content maturity label. For a breakdown of what age ranges can preview your game according to your age, review the following table. If you want to invite someone to preview your game outside of that range, you need to become trusted friends.

When early testers preview a game, they see a watermark that tells them they're in a preview and that Community Standards still apply. In addition, the same in-game reporting and safety tools available in published games stay active, meaning any concerning content or behavior can still be flagged and reviewed even though the game hasn't completed a full content review.

To invite early testers to preview your game:

1. In the top-left corner of your computer, navigate to File > Invite early testers. The Invite early testers window displays.

2. Using the search bar in the window, select up to 10 similar-aged friends or trusted friends you want to invite to preview your game, then click the Invite button in the bottom-right corner of the window. Each early tester you selected receives an invite to preview your game.

   

3. If you have not already completed an age check or age verification, Roblox prompts you to complete an age check.

4. OPTIONAL

   You can manage your early testers by clicking the Manage Collaborators button at the top-right corner of Studio. A list of your current early testers displays with the date that you invited them to preview your game. From here, you can:

   • Add additional early testers by using the search bar.
   • Remove early testers by clicking the X button in their row.

Release games

By default, the games that you publish are only accessible to you as the creator, users with Edit access, and group members with the appropriate roles and permissions. When you are ready to release your game to additional users, ensure you meet the release requirements below for your target audience, then:

1. In the top-left corner of your computer, navigate to File > Publish. The Publish window displays.

2. To invite early testers before you release your game, click the Invite button, otherwise click the Continue button. The window updates with the first question of the Content Maturity questionnaire to see if your game contains age-restricted content.

   1. If your game contains age-restricted content, answer Yes, then complete the entirety of the questionnaire. When you're done, click the Publish button. Your game receives an appropriate content maturity label and content descriptors, and it releases only to age-checked Roblox users ages 16+ or age-verified Roblox users ages 18+, depending on the content within your game.
   2. If your game does not contain age-restricted content, answer No, then click the Publish button. Your game receives a Content May Vary content maturity label, and it releases only to age-checked Roblox users ages 16+. You can later fill out the entirety of the questionnaire on the Creator Hub if you want to expand reach into Roblox Kids, Select, or specific regions requiring more precise maturity rating.

   

3. OPTIONAL

   Grow your audience by either promoting your game with ads or completing age verification to start the process of reaching users under the age of 16 years old.

   

Target audience

You can set a game's target audience on the Creator Hub:

1. In the Creator Dashboard, select your game.

2. In the left-hand navigation, navigate to Publish settings > Manage Audience.

3. In the top-right corner, click the Manage access button, then set your target audience using the following tabs and settings:

   Tab	Settings
   Playtest	Early testers - Your game can only be played by users with Edit access and the early testers you invite. This setting is always enabled. Playtesters - When enabled, your game is only playable to users with Edit or Playtest access and the early testers you invite.
   Public	Friends - When enabled, your game can only be played by your friends and those specified in the Playtest tab. When disabled, your game can be played by anyone on Roblox, pending age and geographical restrictions.

4. Click Save Changes.

5. OPTIONAL

   For Public games, you can choose to omit your game from the Recommended For You category on Roblox for more limited reach and exposure.

   1. In the Creator Dashboard, select your game.
   2. Navigate to Audience > Advanced Settings.
   3. In the Recommendations section, toggle Exclude from recommendations.

Release requirements

To release a game to ages 16+ and Trusted Friends:

• Have an account that is in good standing and at least 2 days old.
• Complete an age check through facial age estimation or government ID.
• Answer the age-restricted content question that displays first in the Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire:

  • Answer No to receive a Content May Vary label. The game releases only to age-checked Roblox users ages 16+.
  • Answer Yes, then complete the questionnaire. The game receives a label based on your answers and releases to age-checked Roblox users ages 16+ or age-verified Roblox users ages 18+, depending on the content within your game.

To release a game to all ages, including Roblox Kids and Select, you must meet all of the previous requirements plus:

• Verify your account through facial age estimation if you are under 18 years old, or through government ID if you are 18 years old or older.
• Enable 2FA on your Roblox account.
• Meet one of the following:

  • Maintain an active Roblox Plus or Roblox Premium subscription for 2 consecutive months.
  • Pay a one-time, refundable fee.
• Game must pass the evaluation process for Kids and Select accounts.
• Complete the entire Maturity & Compliance Questionnaire and receive a Minimal, Mild, or Moderate (9+) content rating.

Optional fees

If you do not have a Roblox Plus or Roblox Premium subscription for 2 consecutive months and you want to release a game to users of all ages, you have the option to pay either a publishing or expedited review fee.

Publishing fee

The publishing fee is a one-time, refundable fee of 1,000 Robux per game that allows you to release and expand the reach of your game to users of all ages. This fee is intended to make it expensive and logistically difficult for bad actors to create large numbers of accounts and flood the platform with spam.

If your game maintains 25 highly engaged players for 60 days without moderation, you will receive a refund of the publishing fee. However, if your game is permanently moderated or taken down for not meeting Roblox's Community Standards within the 60-day period, the fee will not be refunded.

To pay the publishing fee:

1. In the Creator Hub, select the game you want to release to users of all ages.
2. In the left-hand navigation, navigate to Audience > Reach.
3. Under Experience reach, navigate to the Refundable publishing fee section, then click the blue Pay button. A pop-up dialog displays.
4. Click the Pay 1,000 button to confirm your payment.

Expedited review fee

The expedited review fee is a one-time, refundable fee of 50,000 Robux per game that allows you to accelerate the safety and compliance reviews required to release your game to users of all ages. This fee is intended to provide launch flexibility and financial accountability for qualified creators who haven't yet met the highly engaged age-checked player requirement for Kids and Select accounts.

After 90 days, you can request a refund. As long as your game remains in good standing and maintains 25 highly engaged players, you can withdraw your fee and maintain Roblox Kids and Select eligibility. If your game hasn't hit those organic milestones yet, you can leave the fee in place to maintain your eligibility for Kids and Select audiences. However, if your game is permanently moderated or taken down for not meeting Roblox's Community Standards, the fee will not be refunded.

To pay the expedited review fee:

1. In the Creator Hub, select the game you want to expedite for a safety review.
2. In the left-hand navigation, navigate to Audience > Reach.
3. Under Experience reach, navigate to the blue alert, then click the gray Pay button. A pop-up dialog displays.
4. Click the Pay 50,000 button to confirm your payment.