Play to Connect: Young Gamers on What It Takes to Thrive Online

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Participants described friendship, support, and standing up for others as central to their gaming experience, with one saying that what matters most is their friends and teammates.See it on page 20
02
The report notes that gaming environments can present challenges including bullying, toxicity, and systems that incentivise excessive spending or create inequity.See it on page 5
03
Young people expressed that safety is non-negotiable, while also wanting environments that actively help them connect, grow, and thrive.See it on page 18
04
Participants pushed back against pay-to-win systems and called for clear rules, visible progression, and strong protections against cheating.See it on page 27
05
In their game design prompts, young people consistently proposed system-level interventions such as game mechanics, learning structures, and platform features rather than focusing on individual behaviour alone.See it on page 24
06
Participants wanted positive behaviour to be recognised within gameplay, so that kindness and helpful actions shape how the game grows.See it on page 27

Summary

Play to Connect is a report from PROJECT ROCKIT and Roblox that captures the views of young gamers on what helps them thrive in online gaming. It draws on a co-design workshop held in Australia with 40 young people aged 8-14 (average age 11.6), who were recruited through PROJECT ROCKIT's networks, partner schools, and social media. The workshop used play-based activities such as rapid prototyping of games, and was structured around the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) framework. Parents, caregivers, and expert stakeholders were involved in parallel engagements, and expert stakeholder insights are covered in a separate discussion paper.

The report notes that gaming is a core part of how many young people socialise, learn, and express themselves, and participants spoke about friendship, support, and standing up for others as central to their experience. They also reported challenges including bullying, toxicity, cheating, scams, and pay-to-win systems. The authors argue that participants wanted environments that go beyond harm prevention, supporting connection, autonomy, and mastery. Participants proposed system-level ideas such as cooperative mechanics, reputation systems, and tutorials built into gameplay.

The young people's suggestions are presented as seven key takeaways, including building for connection, embedding safety by design, and making fairness part of the game.