The danger in kids’ games is rarely the game. It’s who else is in it, what it wants your child to spend, and where the conversation moves next. Here’s what actually goes wrong in the games your child is most likely to be in, and the handful of settings that matter for each.
Four things go wrong, across almost every game
Learn these four and each game below becomes predictable. The specifics change; the patterns don’t.
Game by game
Each rating is the official ESRB/PEGI guidance. « Who plays » is who’s actually there, which is often younger.
Roblox
Who plays: heavily under-13. One of the most popular platforms for primary-age children.
Not one game but a platform of millions of user-made « experiences, » played together online across phone, console, tablet, and PC. The currency is Robux.
What can go wrong
- Because anyone can build a game, kids can reach experiences with sexual themes, suggestive avatars, or adult chat that slipped past the maturity label. A 2025 report found younger users could access exactly this.
- Text and voice chat put children in contact with strangers. Some push kids to continue on Discord or Snapchat.
- « Free Robux » and rare-item scams harvest passwords and account details; AI now makes these look convincing.
- Constant pressure to buy Robux for items and game passes, some sold as randomized (loot-box style) rewards.
Settings that matter
- Link a parent account (Roblox now supports this) to set content maturity, screen time, and spending limits.
- Restrict or turn off chat, and lock who can message or friend your child.
- Turn off voice chat for younger children.
- No saved payment card. Review purchase and chat history together.
Minecraft
Who plays: broad, from about 6 up. Genuinely one of the more wholesome options in single-player or a private world.
A build-and-survive sandbox. The risk profile changes completely depending on whether your child plays alone, on a private world, or on public multiplayer servers.
What can go wrong
- Public multiplayer servers have unmoderated text chat and strangers of any age. This is where contact risk lives, not in the base game.
- Mods and « add-ons » from untrusted sites can carry malware or inappropriate content.
- Some servers run mini-games and economies with their own scams and spending.
Settings that matter
- Keep young kids on single-player, a private world, or an invite-only Realm with people they know.
- Use the Microsoft/Xbox family account to control multiplayer and chat permissions.
- Only install mods from reputable sources, and vet them yourself.
Fortnite
Who plays: lots of under-13s despite the rating. Violence is cartoonish and bloodless.
A free-to-play battle royale: up to 100 players, last one standing. The game itself is fairly tame; the surrounding chat and spending are the issue.
What can go wrong
- Live, unmoderated voice and text chat with random strangers, and the profanity and toxicity that come with it.
- Heavy spending pressure: V-Bucks, a paid Battle Pass, and a rotating item shop built on fear of missing out, often via brand tie-ins kids love.
- « Just one more match » design that makes stopping hard.
Settings that matter
- Turn off voice chat in Audio settings, or restrict it to friends.
- Set a parental-control PIN required for all purchases.
- Under-13s get « cabined accounts » where you approve features; keep those approvals tight.
- Turn on the mature-language filter and limit friend requests.
Discord
Who plays: teens, and younger kids pulled in from games. Not a game, but the chat hub gaming runs on, which makes it central.
A chat platform of servers (group communities) and private DMs, built around gaming but used for everything. It’s where « let’s talk on Discord » leads.
What can go wrong
- Where game contact often moves to become private DMs. It has been repeatedly linked to grooming, sextortion, and exploitation.
- Public servers can host NSFW channels, extremist or harmful communities, and adults mixing with minors.
- Private, invite-only servers are invisible to you and hard to oversee.
Settings that matter
- Turn on the strictest « safe direct messaging » content filter.
- Disable DMs from people not on their friends list, and from server members.
- Use Discord’s Family Center to see who your teen is messaging.
- For under-13s, it’s below the minimum age; keep them off it.
VR social worlds (VRChat, Rec Room, Meta Quest)
Who plays: teens and younger, often on a headset with almost no supervision.
Immersive social spaces where players meet as avatars and talk by live voice. The immersion makes contact feel more real and more intimate than flat-screen chat.
What can go wrong
- Investigations of VRChat have found rampant grooming, sexual content, and harassment, with minimal age verification.
- Live voice with adults, in a space a parent can’t see or overhear because it’s inside a headset.
- Sexual harassment and « virtual » touching that kids experience as very real.
Settings that matter
- Treat a VR headset as an internet-connected device, not a toy. Set up the account and controls before handing it over.
- Prefer age-appropriate apps and, on Rec Room, junior accounts.
- Keep headset play in shared spaces where you can hear what’s happening.
Free mobile games (Brawl Stars, Clash, Among Us, and many more)
Who plays: all ages, on the phone or tablet already in their hands.
A huge, changing set of free multiplayer games. Individually mild, but they share the same free-to-play mechanics and often include chat with strangers.
What can go wrong
- In-app purchases and loot boxes. Research links loot-box spending to problem gambling in adolescents; the mechanic is deliberately gambling-like.
- Public chat or team voice with strangers in many titles.
- Manipulative ads and « reward » prompts, some leading off to scams.
Settings that matter
- Require a password for every purchase at the app-store level; don’t save a card.
- Check each game’s chat setting; disable public chat for younger kids.
- Talk about loot boxes as gambling, so the design is named for what it is.
Mature-rated games (Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty)
Who plays: many kids well under the rating, often because an older sibling or friend has it.
Games made for adults. GTA features sex, drugs, and violent crime; Call of Duty features realistic graphic violence. Both add unmoderated online modes.
What can go wrong
- Sustained exposure to sexual content, graphic violence, and adult themes the rating exists to gate.
- Online modes (like GTA Online) add unmoderated voice chat, notoriously toxic lobbies, scams, and in-game gambling.
- Spending and loot mechanics on top of all of it.
Settings that matter
- The rating is the setting here. For young children, the honest answer is usually « not yet. »
- If an older teen plays, disable open voice chat and treat the online modes as the real risk, not the campaign.
- Use console family settings to block Mature-rated titles for younger kids on shared hardware.
The settings that matter in almost every game
If you do nothing else, do these. They cover the four risk patterns across most titles.
- Lock down chat and voice. Turn off open chat for younger kids; restrict it to real-life friends for older ones. This is the single biggest lever on contact risk.
- Kill open spending. Require a password or PIN for every purchase, at both the game and app-store level, and never save a card to a child’s device.
- Set the content/age filter. Use maturity settings and console/app family controls so age-inappropriate titles and experiences are blocked, not just discouraged.
- Use the platform’s family account. Roblox parent linking, Microsoft/Xbox Family, Epic cabined accounts, Discord Family Center, console family settings. They exist and they work when switched on.
- Name the off-platform move. Make sure your child knows that « let’s talk on Discord/Snap » from someone they met in a game is the moment to come to you.
Quick reference
| Game | Rating | Biggest risk to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Roblox | All ages / PG | Inappropriate user-made games + stranger chat + Robux scams |
| Minecraft | E10+ / PEGI 7 | Public servers with unmoderated chat; untrusted mods |
| Fortnite | Teen 13+ / PEGI 12 | Open voice chat + heavy spending (V-Bucks, Battle Pass) |
| Discord | 13+ | Where contact moves private; grooming and sextortion |
| VRChat / social VR | Weak checks | Unsupervised live contact with adults; sexual content |
| Free mobile games | Varies | Loot boxes / gambling-style spending; stranger chat |
| GTA, Call of Duty | Mature 17+ / PEGI 18 | Adult content by design; toxic unmoderated online modes |
Ratings and settings change. Check the current controls in each game and console for your child’s account.
Sources
- Internet Matters, Roblox safety guide: internetmatters.org
- Common Sense Media, Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Fortnite: commonsensemedia.org
- BBC investigation into VRChat child safety (via Engadget): engadget.com
- NBC News, Discord child safety and exploitation reporting: nbcnews.com
- Research on loot boxes and adolescent problem gambling: PLOS One
- Common Sense Media, Grand Theft Auto V review: commonsensemedia.org