How we are improving Home this year

[starrrydays]

Key Takeaways

Home is evolving: Today’s Picks is now Standout Games to showcase novel games. Recommended for You adds a new Deep play through rate signal. We’re also testing UI updates that help players choose games and return to the ones they’ve played.

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[Update] July 29, 2026

@loopcoded

Hi Creators,

Starting today, gameplay videos will begin playing directly on Recommended For You (RFY). This is a follow up to the tests we’ve been previously running.

Our testing shows that gameplay videos help players quickly understand what your game is about, draw in players who are more likely to stick with your game, and lead to longer, more engaged play sessions.

In recent tests, games with gameplay video saw up to +39% increase in playtime from RFY*.

^{*based on tests run May through July 2026 across games with uploaded video}

How It Works

When someone hovers over your game on desktop, or stops scrolling with your game in view on mobile, your video automatically starts playing. This does not change how recommendations are ranked, and your game’s position is still determined by the same algorithm as before. The video simply gives players richer context about your game.

Upload Your Gameplay Video Today!

To upload a video, go to your Place settings within the Creator Hub. There, you will find a standalone “Videos” tab to upload. Once approved, your video will automatically be eligible to play on Home.

What Makes a Video Pass Review

Gameplay videos should show the most exciting actual gameplay. Use your video to quickly show how your game really looks and feels so players find the right game for them.

Every gameplay video is reviewed to ensure it authentically represents what players will experience when they play.

Do:

• Capture real, current in-game footage
• Show the actual core loop and what the world looks like
• Feature multiple parts of your game if you want, as long as everything shown is in the game today

Don’t

• Use cinematic trailers, dramatized gameplay, or graphics enhanced beyond what players actually see
• Use real-life footage, voiceovers, narration, or music with lyrics
• Show content that no longer exists in the game
• Add promotional text to your video

The full policy is in our video guidelines documentation.

As always, discovery is driven by players finding games they genuinely enjoy. Our goal with video on Home is to give you more levers to represent it so the right players can find it faster.

Thanks for building with us — drop any questions or feedback below.

[Update] May 14, 2026

@starrrydays

Hi Creators,

Earlier this year, we began testing gameplay videos directly on Home, starting with the new Standout Games sort.

A gameplay video lets a player feel the core game loops, tone, and pacing of your game in a few seconds.

In our tests, we saw gameplay video in Standout Games increased quality plays by +47% and playtime by +1.09%.

We’re now expanding these tests into Recommended For You (RFY). To participate in this test and benefit from results like the above, we encourage you to upload a gameplay video to your game’s page.

Best Practices for Gameplay Videos

• Show your real, current gameplay. Make sure to capture today’s in-game footage and let it speak for itself. Real-life footage, voice-overs, narration, and music with lyrics will be rejected.
• Keep it simple. Some of the best videos are straightforward recordings of the core loop with minimal editing.
• Curated highlight reels are acceptable. You can feature multiple parts of your game, as long as everything shown actually exists in the game.
• In-game UI is totally fine. Character names, menus, and HUD elements that players see during gameplay are part of the authentic experience.
• Avoid using artificially enhancing graphics beyond what players will actually experience, and avoid cinematic trailers with dramatized sequences.

Video presents actual gameplay which gives players an accurate and honest expectation of the game

Video presents an exaggerated version of the experience and gameplay which is misleading to players

For the full dos and don’ts, check out our video guidelines documentation.

As always, discovery is driven by players finding games they genuinely enjoy. Our goal with video on Home is to give you more levers to represent it so the right players can find it faster.

Thanks for building with us — drop any questions or feedback below.

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[Update] April 2, 2026

@starrrydays

With two successful tests now complete, we’re excited to roll out the following updates to Home.

1. Video Previews in Standout Games sort: Unlike static thumbnails, video gives users an authentic preview of real gameplay, and our test results show that this added context drives meaningful engagement - not just more clicks. The Standout Games sort will now primarily feature video previews, while we continue testing video across more sorts and surfaces. If you’d like to be considered for the upcoming tests, we encourage you to add an authentic video showcasing your gameplay to your game’s detail page. You can find guidance on dos and don’t for video in our documentation and check out examples by The Forge, 99 Nights In The Forest and Rivals.

2. Avatar sort on Home: We are rolling out a new Avatar sort on Home across mobile and desktop. This creates a prominent surface to reach users, enabling them to discover and purchase avatars directly from Home. The sort is fully personalized, including when the sort shows upt, its position, and the avatars shown.

   

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[Update] March 26, 2026

@starrrydays

We’re adding a new signal to the Recommended For You algorithm: 7-day qualified play sessions per user. This signal measures the total number of qualified play sessions a user has in your game over the last 7 days. It helps capture whether a game retains users after the first session, leading them to return and engage meaningfully in the next 7 days and aligning with user retention on your game. As with other signals, you will be able to see metrics for this signal on your Creator Analytics dashboard under the Home recommendations tab of the Acquisition Page.

In response to community feedback, we introduced the ability for users to dismiss something they don’t like as a way to provide feedback on the recommendations they receive. This feature has been well-received, and we are now integrating this signal into our discovery system to further enhance the relevance of what users will see on Home. We will start testing and rolling out this integration over the next several weeks. You can start monitoring the stats on users who selected “not interested” for your game on the Creator Analytics dashboard under the Overview tab of the Acquisition Page.

Below we address a few additional questions you may have.

FAQs

Why are we adding more signals?

This is part of our ongoing effort to improve how our discovery algorithms support diverse games with varying characteristics and users with a wide range of interests.

Our approach is based on two key observations:

1. Games are Different: The way we can tell users enjoy a game varies significantly across genres. Consequently, simple metrics like 5 minutes of engagement are insufficient to identify quality games across genres. For example, 5 mins could signal a user bounce in a deep-play game but peak success in a casual one. We require a large variety of user behavior signals to account for genre-specific differences.
2. Users Behave Differently: User behavior changes based on context, such as device (e.g., phone vs. PC), time (e.g., weekday vs. weekend), and evolving interests.

By accurately learning what enjoyment looks like across different games and for different users, we can recommend the optimal set of games to maximize each user’s enjoyment, (which drives their long term retention on Roblox.

Why are we not sharing the weight of each signal relative to other signals? Or the thresholds within a signal. As a creator, how do I optimize my game?

The algorithm is moving toward dynamic and personalized weighting, meaning there will not be a single global formula in the future. Instead, the formula will be constantly evolving and unique for each user.

For creators, the core advice remains: focus on building a fun game. If your creator analytics show outliers where your game underperforms on a specific signal, consider that signal’s relevance to your genre. For example, a game meant for deep enjoyment might naturally have fewer repeat play sessions. If your game is underperforming on a signal that is highly relevant to your genre or audience behaviors, then consider ways to improve a player’s experience and fun.

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Hi Creators,

You’re building more diverse and ambitious experiences on Roblox than ever before, and the community playing them is growing across ages, devices, and play styles.

Because Home is where most discovery happens, we’re evolving it this year to better help experiences reach players most likely to enjoy them. In this post, we’ll walk through what’s changing and what it may mean for the discovery of your experience.

Showcasing novel games

We define novel games as games that meaningfully expand what’s possible on Roblox, whether through new gameplay mechanics, distinctive visual styles, or underrepresented genres.

• Today’s Picks → Standout Games: Today’s Picks will evolve into a new sort dedicated to highlighting novel games on Roblox, handpicked by our curation team. Creators who want their novel game considered for promotion in the new Standout Games sort can submit it through the Curation team’s nomination form.

• Algorithm evolution: We’re improving how our discovery algorithms recognize a wider range of high-quality games across different genres, gameplay mechanics, and play patterns, and connect them with players most likely to engage. Today, we are introducing a new signal to the Recommended for you algorithm called Deep play through rate. Unlike QPTR, which measures the funnel conversion from impression to qualified play and filters out accidental clicks and quick bounces, this signal identifies the deeper conversion to sustained interest and active participation. This signal, alongside our existing metrics, helps games built for deeper engagement reach their potential audience more effectively.

  We hear your feedback that games are built differently: some are casual and meant to be played for short durations repeatedly, while others are more complex and meant to be enjoyed deeply in fewer sessions. Our efforts will continue to ensure that all types of great games find their true fans. You’ll see this new signal in your creator analytics dashboard → acquisition → home recommendations tab. Here’s also a two-minute video that explains how the Recommended for You algorithm works overall:

• New sorts: We’re also exploring new personalized sorts on Home to help players discover experiences that match their interests. This could include genre-focused sorts, activity-based sorts like “Because you played X,” or dedicated sorts for first-time players.

Reaching growing audiences

As we see a growing number of older players joining Roblox, we’re refining how Home introduces the platform to new players. We’ll be running a set of tests that focus on helping someone joining Roblox for the first time quickly discover experiences that feel relevant to them, get excited to play, connect with others, and meaningfully engage for the first time. To attract and retain new players, investing in high-quality thumbnails, videos, and metadata that accurately represent your experience can help bring the right players in. We also recommend clear, intuitive onboarding so players of different backgrounds and experience levels can jump in and start playing.

More visual variety

Presentation plays an important role in how players evaluate recommendations. We’re introducing more visual variety on Home to help players make more informed choices and give games more ways to stand out.

• Video Previews on Home: We’re testing bringing video previews directly onto Home, starting with the new Standout Games sort. A video preview can give players a richer sense of gameplay, tone, and pacing than a thumbnail can, helping players decide whether a game is right for them. You can already add video previews to your game’s details page and these experiments explore how video might also be used earlier in the discovery journey.

• Larger promotional tile: We’re also testing new UI formats on Home, including a larger promotional tile. These formats create more space to highlight novel games, and other content, including ads. We’ll share more details on how games may appear in these formats as the experiments progress.

• Blending ads on Home: As previously shared, we tested blending clearly labeled ads into the Recommended for You sort as part of a simpler Home experience. Early results showed stronger player interaction with a less cluttered Home layout, while creators saw improved performance on their ads. Based on these results, we have rolled it out to all users. Ads will now be spread throughout the Recommended for You sort rather than appearing in a single row on Home. User behaviors of those acquired through ads should not impact how your game ranks organically within the Recommended for you sort. Here’s a two-minute video that further explains this.

An example of the larger promotion tile we’re testing and an ad blended within the Recommended for you sort

Easier to get back to what you were doing

We’ve heard your feedback that it’s been hard to find the games you recently played or go back to your favorites. We’re testing a new flyout menu starting on mobile that makes it easier for players to get back to what they were doing, continue playing a game or accessing common tasks and settings. You will still be able to access games that you want to resume playing via the Continue sort on Home as well as through Search.

What this means for you

We’re committed to evolving the platform so your great games have the best possible chance to thrive. Discovery continues to be driven by player interest and engagement across a wide range of games, from familiar favorites to more experimental games. If you have a bold idea for a Roblox game, check out today’s Newsroom post for more on the programs we’re offering to help creators bring ambitious ideas to life. Together, these investments are designed to help ambitious games not just ship but scale.

Thank you for all your feedback on Home so far. Feel free to ask us any questions or share any additional feedback below. We’ll do more deep dives on topics like Search in the future.

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FAQs

Click here to view

Do games need to be novel to get discovered on Home?

• No. Discovery on Home is driven by player interest and engagement. When players enjoy a game, we work to recommend it to other players who are also likely to enjoy it, across a wide range of game types and styles.

  In addition, some novel games may be highlighted through curated promotion to help players discover games that bring meaningful novelty to Roblox. Curated promotion is separate from organic ranking and does not change how games are evaluated for Home recommendations.

Won’t ads appearing in Recommended for You (RFY) lead to irrelevant results for players?

• Ads shown in Recommended for You are still served based on player behavior and likelihood to engage. Ads Manager is designed to show ads to players who are more likely to be interested in and play the advertised game, rather than showing the same ads broadly to everyone.

  The goal is for ads in RFY to feel relevant to the player, not random or disruptive.

Why might my Recommended for You impressions go down when I get featured by the curation team or run ads?

• When you get a boost from being featured by our curation team or from a high-performing ad campaign you are reaching a much larger pool of users and successfully moving them from considering your game to playing it.

  Here is the reason your Recommended For You (RFY) impressions might dip:

  • Once a user clicks your ad or featured tile and plays your game, it will now appear in the Continue sort on Home. The user is playing or has played your game.
  • Since you have already acquired the user, we won’t show the game in the Recommended For You sort for that user.
  • This leaves fewer “new” relevant users for RFY to target, which can cause RFY impressions to go down. When relevant users who have not played your game are on the Home page, RFY will generate impressions for your game to them.

  The Bottom Line: Don’t let an RFY impressions drop alarm you. It’s a trailing indicator that your game has successfully graduated users from discovering to playing.

[scooter_user (scoot)]

all im getting from this is “we renamed today’s picks”

[bloxxisoda (alialiali)]

Great update! Kinda funny that you’re calling them “games” for once though (as they should be!!!)

[bsampablo (Unstable)]

The Novel games in general are brainrot games that lack creativity

[bloxxisoda (alialiali)]

They’re testing a new UI for the app too, I had it for a few weeks and I much preferred it to the old one.

[Kilobiting (Tee Vee)]

I really love the idea of the side panel on mobile; it saves a lot of space and looks clean! Though, on pc, you should’ve added more buttons as pc will always have a bigger screen.

[Hammouda101010]

i hope that high quality games will finally be able to reach the charts page with this new algorithim!

[iGottic]

@starrrydays

Today, we are introducing a new signal to the Recommended for you algorithm called Deep play through rate. Unlike QPTR, which measures the funnel conversion from impression to qualified play and filters out accidental clicks and quick bounces, this signal identifies the deeper conversion to sustained interest and active participation. This signal, alongside our existing metrics, helps games built for deeper engagement reach their potential audience more effectively.

I’m really hoping this helps make more unique games make it to the top charts more. Players and developers are both tired of seeing trend-chasing games being the safest option.

Trend games aren’t sustainable for the platform, even if there are always new trends, because each trend shifts players around. Focusing on promoting sustainable game design is important for Roblox’s longevity.

[iGottic]

That is a completely different team than the one that worked on these changes.

[bloxxisoda (alialiali)]

Considering many other websites and even offline apps are starting to implement similar measures, it’s looking like they won’t be rolling it back anytime soon. Sorry. At this point, it’s a government issue and if you care about this sort of thing that much you should absolutely protest at that level.

[ChasingSpace (Chasing)]

This is incredible news for the health of the platform if these changes have the intended impact. Ever since the brainrot genre exploded, the platform has felt harder than ever to find anything worth spending time on. It actually was negatively impacting my hopes for the platform, because it really seemed like it was all there was to offer, despite knowing better.

My personal experience with discovery as an older user has been not great to say the least (many irrelevant games), but I really hope these changes really hit the mark for the majority.

[DevJanick]

Honestly I would like to have the option to add owned games or group owned games where I have edit rights from to the home page to monitor the player count and quickly access them, as now they are in favorites but that’s so far down.

[MrSussy9000 (sillyis_EMO)]

i like it, but get rid of the crappy knockoff brainrot games please, and support more original games. like murder mystery, dandys world, forsaken, etc.

[xyrafrost]

I still consider Home to be unusable without browser extensions.

• I want Continue and Favorites at the very top. Always.
• I want Continue to actually display games in order of when I last visited them.
• I want Favorites to display more than 50 games.
• I don’t want an unrelated ad to appear after every two games in recommended.
• I don’t want categories to occasionally move around.

I’d also like a way to completely block everything related to “People You May Know”. I might make a feature request for this.

[metatablecatmaid (metatablecat)]

Please move the recomended for you category underneath Recently Played.

[gerpgoo (colin)]

I still can’t believe we don’t have a way to customize our home page exactly how we want it. Feels like it gets redesigned twice a year and yet you still have to scroll all the way to the bottom to look at your favorites. Is there any work being put into personalization of the home page, especially for the website?

[crazyInsaneEven11111]

Okay, but does this mean that games that aren’t meant to be played routinely (think, a story game with a few hours of content, little replayability) will succesful on roblox?

And what about monetization? Will games that don’t want to suck every penny out of the playerbase be promoted?

Are any of the glaring problems with game discovery and such ACTUALLY being adressed?

[Entolecent]

If this is implemented properly, it should make for a great update. The charts page is currently absolutely flooded with Brainrot games, so hopefully this will help diversify the games that appear there.

[Ghaucho]

chat restrictions
ugly site UI
roblox launcher
clothing uploads and sale restricted to premium users
low effort brainrot games on frontpage

2010 ROBLOX IS BACK BABYYYYY