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Roblox Shuts Down the Chinese Version of its iOS and Android App
11 Jan, 2022 / 08:59 am / Reeny Joseph

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Roblox shut down the Chinese version of its iOS and Android app, also known as LuoBuLeSi, just five months after its release in China, according to a report from Tech Crunch.The app, which was rolled out as a test in partnership with Chinese game company Tencent , will be rebuilt and potentially re-released in the country at a later date.

Roblox was officially taken off app stores on December 8th of last year, as announced on a translated version of Roblox China’s website . The post thanks players for testing out the app, and says that developers will “continue to optimize the product.”

China also known as LuoBuLeSi with a vision to build an immersive virtual universe of 3D experiences in China that we have been testing and iterating on along the way,” Roblox spokesperson James Kay said in a statement to The Verge. “It is critical that we now make the necessary investments, including investments in our data architecture, in order to realize our long-term vision for LuoBuLeSi.”

As for why the Roblox app was removed, Kay told The Verge that “a number of important transitory actions are necessary” as the platform prepares to build another version of the app. Kay also didn’t share any additional details about when the new version will be released, noting that the company will make the information public when the time comes.

The shutdown of Roblox China, albeit temporary, marks the sudden cessation of yet another popular game in the country.

Ahead of all these gaming-related shutdowns, Chinese regulators compared video games to spiritual opium  and began limiting kids’ screen time to just three hours per week. This is in addition to a curfew that prohibits children from gaming between 10PM and 8AM, which is supposed to fight video game addiction.