(Credit: Roblox)
Roblox is launching two new AI tools for creators who use its desktop Roblox Studio software, allowing over 5 million developers and creators on its platform to generate new object textures and character avatars based on text prompts.
The generative AI texture tool can be applied to objects, outfits, accessories, foliage, world tiles, furniture, or just about anything in Roblox with a “mesh part.” The AI can take an item description provided by the user, create it with code, and apply it to the object in approximately 30 seconds.
Roblox’s new generative AI avatar tool, dubbed Avatar Auto Setup, also offers high levels of customization, but takes more time for the AI to generate because it’s a more complex task.
Roblox Head of Studio and AI Stefano Corazza tells PCMag in an interview that AI-generated characters can take about a minute and a half to fully process. This is much faster than a manual human attempt, however, which Roblox says could take “hours or even days.”
“There’s a lot of stuff going on under the hood to actually calculate and compute,” Corazza explains. A seemingly simple backpack we used in a demo, for instance, has about 16 parts. Characters are much more complex, as they have dynamic facial expressions and body movements as well as many wearable items that can be textured.
“We are seeing AI as a really powerful tool to democratize creation,” Corazza says of Roblox’s AI stance. “We’re enabling people that may not have the technical skills or the artistic skills to still manifest their intent and their idea.”
Roblox’s texture and avatar generators are now officially live in a free global public beta and are available to anyone that downloads its Roblox Studio creator software on a Mac or Windows PC. It doesn’t require any coding knowledge, money, or extensive time commitment to generate new pieces of content for immediate use in the game.
In a quick test, the texture generator was able to make the metallic gold backpack I requested within a few clicks, but it wasn’t able to capture all the details on the first try (I also wanted leaves on it).
These tools were quietly soft-launched last week ahead of Monday's official launch. Some Roblox creators caught on early and have already begun playing with the new features. One Roblox creator known as Valkenheim made ripped-up dark jeans and a baseball cap with the new item texture tool. “So far everything I've seen has had better results than I personally anticipated,” Valkenheim writes on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Guy de Beer, COO of Roblox studio Toya Play, applauds the new tools in a statement. “We create dozens of custom characters each month, and Avatar Auto Setup has the potential to increase productivity for our throughput dramatically,” de Beer says. “The creation process will be transformed entirely in the next decade.”
But not all Roblox creators are as impressed by its new tools. Pseudonymous 3D modeler and Roblox creator Soundleak posted an image comparing AI-powered and non-AI Roblox items, writing: “I believe you can tell which is which.”
Corazza says the AI tools don't pose a threat to Roblox’s existing creator-powered marketplace, where user-generated content (UGC) can be bought and sold. While more items will certainly be generated overall thanks to the AI tools, they may not necessarily be able to rival those of top-tier creators putting in hours of manual effort and know-how.
“I don’t think that is going to go away,” Corazza tells PCMag of Roblox’s existing UGC marketplace and creator economy. “In the future, people will be able to create their own assets and accessories directly in-experience, but that probably will also be a paid step.”
Earlier this year, Roblox rolled out a new AI-powered translation feature that automatically translates text in the platform’s chat box into the user’s preferred language. It also launched an AI world-building chatbot in 2023 and recently fully released its AI Code Assist tool. Roblox creators have used over 300 million lines of AI-generated code to create their designs since Code Assist's beta launch, according to the company.
Roblox plans to eventually roll out its newest texture and avatar tools to players who aren’t creators as well, allowing anyone on any Roblox-compatible platform, including console and mobile, to be able to make their own content with AI.