Roblox branded ‘pedophile hellscape’ with games like ‘Escape to Epstein Island’ and ‘Diddy Party’
Popular kids video game Roblox was branded a “pedophile hellscape,” with titles such as “Diddy Party,” and “Escape to Epstein Island,” according to Hindenburg Research – the short-seller who called out alleged fraud by companies owned by Carl Icahn and Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
The , released Tuesday, claimed that kids playing Roblox were exposed to images of 🔥male genitalia, grooming by predators, digital strip clubs and red-light distric🐓ts.
“We found Roblox to be an X-rated pedophile hellscape, replete with users attempting to groom our avatars, groups openly trading child pornography, widely accessible sex games, violent content and extremely abusive speech – all of which is open to young childr♊en and all while Roblox has cut content moderation spending to appease Wall Street andꦍ boost earnings,” Hindenburg said.
Roblox has around 80 million daily users on its gaming platform that are 16 years old and und🎃er, with one in five under nine years old. The average user plays the game for 2.5 hours a day, according to Roblox’s own figures, which were first cited by the Financial Times.
The Hindenburg report cites “over 600 experiences” that “referenced alleged sexual predator 🌞Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, including ‘Freak Off’ role play games.”
The rapper is currently in 𝔍jail after being charged with sex traffick𝐆ing.
Roblox also hosted “over 900 account va𒐪riations of the name Jeffrey Epstein, including numerous fan accounts,” the report said.
Epstein, who was convicted of having sex with a minor, killed himself in jail in 201💙9 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
A nine-year-old’s account was able to access a game caಌlled “Escape to Epstein Island,” whose thumbnail image shows Epstein appearing to give chase to a young girl, according to Hindenburg.
The short seller accused Roblox of implementing “zero up-front screening that might keep pedophiles off the platform” as well♍ as “seemingly zero up-front moderation of experiences.”
The research firm said that it was able to set up accounܫts for children under the age of nine that allowed them the option of setting up their own parental controls.
It also accused Roblox of offering children unfettered access to games in whไich participants can virtually rape, grope and sexually assault other users.
Aside from the troubling sexual content, the report said that Roblox allowed youngsters to gain access to games with violent themes, inc꧑luding one that allowed them to assault homeless people outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store.
Hindenburg, which publishes investigative reports about companies believed to engage in fraudulent or unethical practices, also accused the San Mateo, Calif.-based video game giant of lying to investors about the number of users on its platform i🐲n order to inflate its stock price.
Roblox stock plunged by ♍as much as 9% in the wake of the report before recouping some of those losses to close down 2%.
The short seller said it has also ꦛfound multiple instances of bots from different countries that use alternate accounts to “farm” for goods in games on Roblox.
“Roblox is lying to investors, regulator⛄s, and advertisers about the number ofꦑ ‘people’ on its platform, inflating the key metric by 25-42%+,” Hindenburg said.
Roblox denied all the claims. “We totally reject the claims made in the report,” a Roblox spokesperson said in a statement.
“The financial claims made by Hindenburg Research are simply misleading.”
