Roblox Shuts Down Avatar-Driven Video Chat
AI-generated image · US National Wire
The platform is discontinuing Roblox Connect in favor of its Party Voice feature for users 13 and older.
Roblox is shutting down Roblox Connect, the video calling service it launched in 2023. The feature allowed users to engage in video chats using avatars that mimicked the user's real-life movements, while also permitting participants to navigate a shared virtual environment during the call.
According to reporting from The Verge, the company is discontinuing both the feature and its developer-facing APIs. Roblox spokesperson Angela Allison told The Verge that users aged 13 and older "predominantly" use the platform's Party Voice feature to conduct private voice calls with "Trusted Friends."
In a post published last month, a Roblox staffer indicated that Party Voice is better suited to current player behavior and is more capable of handling private voice chat than the discontinued service. Access to Party Voice requires Roblox to verify that a user is at least 13 years old.
While Roblox previously stated it intended to open-source the Connect feature, The Verge reports that it remains unclear if that process ever occurred.