Roblox introduces AI-powered tools to boost 3D content creation

Roblox unveiled two novel AI technologies aimed at revolutionizing 3D content creation on its platform for user-generated content.

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the company showed off the Avatar Auto Setup and Texture Generator, which promise to significantly accelerate the process of building avatars and texturing objects, promising a new era of efficiency for creators worldwide.

Avatar Auto Setup simplifies the arduous task of creating avatars by automating the conversion of 3D body meshes into fully animated avatars ready for immediate use. This feature, available in Roblox Studio’s alpha release, drastically reduces the time spent on avatar setup.

Meanwhile, Texture Generator empowers creators to swiftly alter the appearance of 3D objects using text prompts. By simply inputting descriptive phrases, creators can generate textures tailored to their specifications, facilitating rapid prototyping and iteration.

Nick Tornow, vice president of creator engineering at Roblox, said in a statement that these new AI technologies can transform the creative process.

“Our new AI technologies help anyone from an indie developer to a professional game studio quickly create rich, compelling content on the Roblox platform,” Tornow said. “With these tools, creators can focus on creative ideation and less on implementation, enhancing their experiences to grow engagement—and ultimately, their businesses.”

How it works

Avatar Auto Setup simplifies the avatar creation process by automatically converting a 3D body mesh into a live, animated avatar ready for users to adopt. With just a click, Auto Setup will automatically rig, cage, segment, and skin 3D models. Completing a process that used to take people days in just a few minutes. The initial alpha release is intended to provide this workflow for creators in Roblox Studio and eliminate hours of manual work.

Texture Generator enables creators to use text prompts to quickly change the look of 3D objects. With Texture Generator, creators can rapidly prototype new looks for their experience, easily bring new textures to life, and optimize workflows. For example, if a creator asks to create a texture for a 3D wooden treasure chest, Texture Generator will create a texture that accentuates the chest’s sharp corners and takes into consideration features like the wooden planks and the lock. Alternatively, a creator can easily generate multiple versions of an asset in various colors and textures, such as building gold, silver, and bronze trophies.

Industry reaction

Industry insiders have lauded Roblox’s AI-driven approach to content creation. Guy de Beer, chief operating officer at Toya Play, said in a statement, “For” the kind of branded experiences we build — with hundreds of bespoke avatars — AI changes the creation economy, providing boundless opportunities for creators to bring their creative visions to life.”

These advancements underscore Roblox’s ongoing investments in AI innovation. In addition to Avatar Auto Setup and Texture Generator, the company has recently launched Code Assist and automatic chat translations, further enhancing the platform’s capabilities and global reach.

Throughout the 11-month beta of Code Assist, a tool that suggests lines or functions of code as creators type, creators adopted about 300M characters of code suggested by the tool. According to Toya Play, their software development team has already seen a 5% increase in efficiency using Code Assist, representing “months of work across the company.”

It also launched AI-enabled toxicity monitoring for voice chat and real-time translation of text chat. In the 30 days since the launch of automatic chat translations, which gives users worldwide the ability to easily communicate with each other regardless of what language they speak, usage of Roblox’s proprietary TextChatService in creators’ experiences has more than doubled. The outpouring of engagement from users resulted in 19.7 billion translated messages so far— about one third of the messages sent on Roblox — including valuable user feedback from international markets for creators.

“AI has the power to help us create things beyond our imagination and connect people across the globe,” said Juniper Hovey, lead engineer at Neura Studios, in a statement. “This week at GDC, we’ll be releasing a first-of-its-kind Roblox experience that turns users into creators. Connecting users across the world — something core to our experience functionality — is made easier with features like chat translations. On Roblox, the line between creator and user is blurred. We hope to make them one and the same with AI and our upcoming release.”

The company knows that it could be disrupted by the combination of AI and user-generated content, and so it’s attempting to move fast with its own AI innovations.

Avatar Auto-Setup is available in alpha, and Texture Generator is available in a public beta and can be accessed in Roblox’s advanced development environment, Roblox Studio.

Roblox at GDC

Both Hovey and de Beer will be joining Head of Roblox Studio Stef Corazza and Roblox Head of Discovery Chen Zheng on stage at GDC this Thursday, March 21, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to discuss How Generative AI is Transforming Game Development, Discovery and UGC.

In another session, Andrew Rose, chief product officer at Voldex, and Alex Singer, CEO of Voldex, will talk at the Free to Play Summit on Navigating the Difference Between Roblox and Mobile Free-to-Play Games.

That will be at Room 2006, West Hall on March 18 from 3:50 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.

Another panel will discuss Building a Business on Roblox. Speakers will include Matt Curtis (VP, Developer Relations, Roblox); Alex Balfanz (co-creator, Jailbreak); Andrew Douthwaite (Chief Commercial Officer, Dubit); Mary Rukavina (Director of Creativity, Twin Atlas); Naomi Clemens (Director of Digital Fashion, Simple Games); and Colin Dunatov  (Game Developer, CDDevelopment). It will happen at Room 2009, West Hall on March from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Roblox will also talk about How Generative AI is Transforming Game Development, Discovery and UGC. The speakers include Stef Corazza (Senior Engineering Director, Roblox); Chen Zheng (Senior Director, Product, Roblox); Juniper Hovey (Technical Lead, Neura Studios); and Guy de Beer (Operating Officer, Toya). It will take place at Room 2020, West Hall on March 21 at 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

And it will hold a talk on The AI Revolution: An Expert-led Discussion on Generative AI’s Potential in Gaming. Speakers will include Vitalii Vashchuk (Head of Gaming Solutions , EPAM); Stef Corazza (Head of Roblox Studio, Roblox); Chris Benjaminsen (Founder and Head of AI, FRVR); Nico Perony (Director of AI Research, Unity); Luis Villegas (Chief Technology Officer, Bungie); and Jeff Skelton (Head of Technology Partnerships, Electronic Arts (EA)). It will take place at Room 2024, West Hall on March 20 at 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.