Leaving Roblox
I've spent the last 7 years on Roblox as a developer.
I watched the platform explode in 2020. I saw it grow from tens of thousands of concurrent players on games like Adopt Me to games pulling in millions of CCU daily.
But, I'm done.
What happened? Genuinely.
Roblox used to feel simple and creative. You'd log on, play something low-quality but fun, and that was the charm. It didn't need to be perfect, it just needed to be enjoyable.
Now it feels different.
There are ID checks just to access certain chat features. Classic avatars are slowly being replaced with animated faces. Old, nostalgic games are unavailable simply because they are unrated. Instead of improving moderation, it feels like broad restrictions are being placed on everyone.
The platform feels more controlled, less creative, and that bullshit is what finally pushed me away.
Why the shift?
After nearly a decade, the "soul" of the platform has changed. It no longer feels like a creative community, it feels like a gated corporation.
- "Safety" changes: Between mandatory ID gating for basic features and "safety" changes that kill player engagement (Age Groups), You aren't able to do basic things anymore.
- "The Metaverse": The aggressive push for "realism", specifically the mandatory Dynamic Heads is erasing the charm of the platform in favor of a corporate "Metaverse".
In short: I'm tired of fighting an engine that feels like it's working against its own creators.
What made me leave
For the past year, I've been on the fence. Stay? Leave? Move to another engine?
I finally decided to try something new.
I didn't want to abandon Luau immediately, so I experimented with Love2D, specifically using Kaledis, which lets me write standard Luau for Love2D projects.
And honestly? It feels amazing.
No engine restrictions. Real shaders. Real 2D. And most of the stuff I use on a daily basis (signals, maids, springs) still work perfectly.
For the first time in a while, development feels fun again.
What to switch to?
If you're thinking about leaving Roblox development too, here are some strong alternatives.
Godot
Probably the most popular alternative, and for good reason.
Godot's ecosystem is growing rapidly, and it supports multiple languages:
Official, Most stable
Community, Semi-stable & Growing
Niche
If you want flexibility and long-term stability, Godot is a serious option.
Love2D
This is what I chose as a transition step.
Its ecosystem is smaller, but it's lightweight, fast, and extremely flexible. If you already know Lua (or Luau), you'll feel at home quickly. With Kaledis, you even keep static typing.
I wouldn't necessarily call it a permanent replacement for everyone, but as a bridge away from Roblox, it's perfect.
Airship
Airship is being built by the creators of BedWars and lets you create your games on Unity. It uses TypeScript as the primary language, which makes it a good option if you're coming from roblox-ts.
It's also open-source, which means you can contribute, report issues, or even patch things yourself. That level of transparency is refreshing.
Polytoria
I'll be honest, I don't personally see this as a long-term alternative.
It feels very similar to Roblox in structure and API, but with a much smaller playerbase. For some, that familiarity might be appealing. For me, it doesn't feel like a meaningful step forward. It's going from one platform to another.
Final Thoughts
Roblox gave me seven years of experience, learning, and opportunity. It helped me learn programming, and I'm grateful for that.
But growth sometimes means moving on.
For now, I'm choosing creative freedom over platform restrictions, and I'm excited to see where that leads.