Lawsuit claims 12-year-old child is addicted to Roblox

Akiya Dillon, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sep 30, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — Four months into relocating its legal headquarters to Nevada, Roblox has been sued in federal court.

The lawsuit alleges that the company put “profits over safety,” which led to a 12-year-old child, only identified by the initials B.M.D., becoming addicted to the online game.

Attorneys Chelsie Warner and Jennifer Hoekstra filed the complaint on behalf of the child’s father, Brandon Johnson, on Friday in Las Vegas.

Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite; Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox gaming console; and Mojang, a Microsoft subsidiary that publishes Minecraft, are also defendants in the complaint. According to Johnson’s lawsuit, those games were among the first the child played.

B.M.D., who lives in Missouri and began playing video games around the age of 5, “developed a disordered relationship with and became addicted … as a result of playing Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft,” the complaint states.

“B.M.D. suffers from severe physical, emotional, and economic injuries, including diminished social interactions, lack of interest in other hobbies, and withdrawal symptoms such as rage, anger, and physical outbursts,” Warner and Hoekstra wrote.

Roblox and Microsoft press representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Spokespeople for Epic Games and Mojang could not be reached.

Nevada corporation

Roblox Corp., founded by David Baszucki, was incorporated as a Nevada business on May 30, 2025, according to the secretary of state’s online database.

The video gaming company shifted its incorporation from Delaware — long favored by many Fortune 500 firms — to Nevada, joining other major corporations, such as Sphere Entertainment Co. and TripAdvisor Inc.

This was a legal, not physical, move, as companies can change their state of incorporation without moving operations. Roblox’s principal place of business has remained in San Mateo, California, since its inception.

Based on the Friday court filings, the state of Nevada has jurisdiction over Roblox because it is a business registered there. The lawsuit also states that the court could decide on issues involving Epic Games, Microsoft, and Mojang because each has conducted business in Nevada and provided services that allegedly caused harm.

Johnson’s 114-page complaint referenced research studies and argued that extensive video game play can cause children to lose gray matter in their brains, leading to serious physical and mental effects associated with “Internet Gaming Disorder.”

“Research has shown that prolonged use of video games damages the prefrontal cortex of the user, causing a loss of grey matter, lower cognitive function, and an inability to regulate impulse control,” Johnson’s lawyers wrote. “Research has also concluded that such use of video games may lead to negative effects like stress, aggressive behavior, verbal memory deficiency, depression, lowered cognitive abilities, sleeping disorders, anxiety, and behavioral addiction disorders.”

The complaint also notes that the American Psychiatric Association recognizes the disordered use of video games and internet gaming as a diagnosable mental disorder and form of behavioral addiction.

‘Create addiction and increase profits’

The lawsuit states that Roblox, launched in 2006, has nearly 100 million daily users, with 45 percent of them being under the age of 13. When signing up to play the game, users can’t enter a birth year after 2020, and parental consent is not required.

Roblox’s gameplay differs from traditional games because it allows users to create and play “experiences” designed by themselves or others, according to the lawsuit. The platform rates experiences as “Minimal” or “Mild” for users under 9, “Moderate” for those age 9 through 17, and “Restricted” for adults, which requires ID verification to access.

Still, Johnson’s Lawyers argue, the game lacks adequate safety protections for minors, and, despite the associated risks, Roblox and its co-defendants hired child development experts and psychologists to help design games that “create addiction and increase profits.”

The lawsuit points to features such as the game’s “season pass,” which costs real money and offers exclusive items, and the achievement system, which rewards players for spending more time on the platform. It also notes that similar in-game purchases and achievement incentives exist in Fortnite and Minecraft.

Johnson is seeking over $75,000 in damages, according to the suit.

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