In less than 50 years, video games have gone from a novelty played mainly by adolescent boys to a cultural force. Today, video games are played by some 190 million Americans and the industry brings in $57 billion annually — more than the film, music and book publishing industries combined.
Video games have a lot of positives — they give many people a social outlet they might not otherwise have. But they also can be addictive … so much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) identified “gaming disorder” as an official diagnosis in its International Classification of Diseases.
In recent years, game makers and the platforms they are played on have increasingly offered parental controls to manage children’s video game use. Here’s a rundown of the controls on popular games and places kids play.
Video games
Roblox
Roblox is not just one of the most popular video games in the world. It’s a virtual playground of social activity and interactive play. It includes tens of millions of games played online covering many genres called “experiences,” as well as social features including text chat, video chat and more.
These experiences range from role playing, puzzle, parkour, murder mystery and shooting games to random number generation games (RNGs).
Among the most popular games are Brookhaven, Blox Fruits and The Strongest battlegrounds. Players can customize their avatars in various ways. They can also buy, share and exchange items. While it is primarily played on mobile devices, Roblox can also be played on most video game consoles, PC and Apple devices.
In addition to the immense variety of gaming experiences available on the platform, Roblox also allows users to create their own games on the platform with its "Roblox Creator Hub." This mode is available on Mac and PC, but not yet fully available on mobile platforms.
Though the game is recommended for children 13 and over, many of its players are elementary and middle schoolers.
Roblox introduced revamped parental controls late in 2024. Gone is the powerful parental PIN. Now, parents can control their child’s Roblox account from their own adult account.
To get started:
- Log in to your child’s account.
- Go to settings then
Being primarily a platform for multiplayer online gaming, Roblox features a number of social features, including text and audio chat. Many of these features come automatically disabled for child accounts, but checking their settings and knowing where they can be checked periodically may be helpful to parents. Roblox has added voice chat into the game with a feature called “Chat for Voice.” A phone number is required, and the platform has added additional protections.
Parent accounts
Parents can manage their child’s Roblox settings using their own adult account. After creating an account, you must first verify your age before connecting to your child’s account.
To set up a parents account:
- Go to "More."
- Go to "Settings" (it's the gear icon).
- Choose “Account Info.”
- Add your birthdate.
- Select “Verify Age.”
- Select “Photo ID” you’d like to upload.
From here, you can connect to your child’s account. To do that:
To connect your child's account to yours:
- Log in to your child’s Roblox account.
- Go to More.
- Go to Settings (the gear icon).
- Choose “Parental Controls.”
- Select “Add Parent”
- Add your email address.
- From email, confirm your child’s account to your own age-verified account.
Once your parent acount is connected to the child account, you can view all the parental controls by going to Settings and choosing Parental Controls. This is where you can make changes to how your kids play, who they play with, how they communicate, and much more.
Parents can also view screen time use details and set screen limits for Roblox. Parent accounts also can see their child’s friends list.
Parental Controls in Roblox cover a lot of different ground. Here is a breakdown of some more options for parents to review:
Chat features on Roblox
There are two chat features parents need to know about.
The first option is “Experience Chat.” Enabling this would allow your child to chat with other players during a play session while in a particular experience. It would end with the end of that gameplay session. If set to “Everyone,” your child will be able to text chat with other players with it enabled as well. Parents can set to “No one” to disable this option.
“Direct Chat” is similar to the experience but is for one-on-one chat during a gameplay experience. Options are “Everyone” to enable the feature and “No one,” which disables it. Direct chat is only available to accounts with listed ages 13 years old and above.
To find out more, visit Roblox's resources for families.
Fortnite
Since its release in 2017, Fortnite has become a cultural force. At its core is a free-to-play multiplayer "Battle Royale." Made by Epic Games, Fortnite has multiple game modes and options, and can be played on virtually any device out there. Nearly 10 years since its debut, interest in the game remains high, as new maps, celebrity tie-ins and game items keep the game fresh.
How to set parental controls for Fortnite:
- Log in to your child’s account (or create a new one) by going to Epic Account portal.
- Parents have the option of logging into Epic Games account, or logging in through a video game console’s account, such as Nintendo, PlayStation, or XBox.
- Once logged in, you will be asked to create a six digit PIN to use to manage parental controls.
NOTE: Cabined accounts are a default setting for accounts of children under the age of 13. In this setting, features such as voice chat and making purchases are disabled until the parent changes parental settings.
To review parental controls for Epic Games and Fortnite, go to "Account" > "Parental Controls."
Here are the six settings options in Parental Controls:
Though Fortnite is completely free to download and play, players can buy items to customize their experience and stand out in the game. Such items include “skins,” “emotes” and “bundles,” which can be purchased by using Fortnite’s in-game currency, called "V-Bucks."
If you’re concerned about kids spending money in the game without permission, you can require a pin number before anything can be bought in the game.
In Parental Controls under "Social Permissions," parents can adjust how their child can communicate and friend other Fortnite players.
Under Parental controls > Social Permissions, parents can require a pin number to add new friends in the game.
Fortnite supports text chat and voice chat to communicate with other players. Parents can set up chat for both voice and chat here with the following options:
- Everybody
- Friends & Teammates
- Friends Only
- Nobody
Fortnite's first foray into conversational ai allows players to strategize with a legendary Star Wars villain.
This setting "Allow voice and written communication with AI Features" can be found under Parental controls. For accounts of children under the age of 13, the setting is turned off by default.
For more, visit Epic Games Safety and Security Center.
Minecraft
Minecraft is in a class of its own. Not only is it one of the most popular video games of all time, it has also grown into an elaborate educational tool and platform.
Developed by Majong and then purchased by Microsoft in 2014, Minecraft has become a powerhouse content brand for kids, including multiple video games across different platforms and consoles. The Minecfraft universe has also spawned several spin-off versions including the action game Minecraft Dungeons, strategy game Minecraft Legends and a suite of educational offerings known as Minecraft Education. And, in 2025, "A Minecraft Movie" brought the universe to movie screens. "Chicken jockey," anyone?
Though privacy settings do exist within Minecraft, the bulk of the parental settings are best managed through the Microsoft Family Safety app described below.
Video game consoles
When thinking about video games, it’s not just about what games your kids may be playing them, but also where they are playing them.
Video games can be divided into three main types:
- Mobile gaming
- Console gaming- (PS5, Nintendo Switch, etc.)
- PC gaming
Here are some of the more common devices that children are spending time playing video games today.
Nintendo Switch
For video games, the Nintendo Switch has had staying power as a popular video game console since its release in 2017. For parents concerned about their kids overloading on Super Smash Bros or the latest version of Zelda, Nintendo provides parental controls and limits that are easy to use and access.
Play time on a Nintendo Switch console can be managed through the Switch Parental Controls app.
From the app, parents can set up the console and set "Play-Time Limit," "Restriction Level" and can create a PIN to be used to override parental locks.
PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles
Sony PlayStation also provides options to set play time limits and to modify communication and privacy. A parent will need to create their own PlayStation ID account to be the family manager. The child will then have their own PlayStation ID account tied to the family.
To set play time limits:
- Go to "Account Management."
- Select "Family Management."
- Choose "Play Time Settings."
- Select preferred "Play Time Settings."
To review your child’s privacy settings:
- Go to Account Management and select Family Management.
- Choose Privacy Settings and select "Edit."
- Select "Parent/Guardian."
Review settings and make changes to settings from three options:
→ "Gaming/Media"
→ "Friends/Connections"
→ "Personal Info/Messaging"
Microsoft’s Xbox
Microsoft is a gaming giant on multiple fronts. They are of course known for their Xbox gaming consoles. And as mentioned earlier, they also own Minecraft
Microsoft has multiple ways to change settings around privacy and safety, which can make the process confusing. A Microsoft account is needed to play Minecraft and use online features on Xbox.
Microsoft has a portal called "Family Safety," where parents can manage their family’s Microsoft accounts and activity. Parents have the option to install the Microsoft Family Safety app and manage family accounts there.
For management around Xbox consoles, there are specific privacy and online safety settings for parents to review and update. These can also be done using the Xbox Family Settings App on iOS and Android app stores. Here parents can customize how accounts can communicate with other players, such as video, voice, and text chat.
These are the settings available. For each, parents can choose 'Everyone,' 'Friends,' or 'Only Me.'
- You can use video for communications.
- You can see and upload community creations.
- See other people's Xbox profiles.
- You can communicate outside of Xbox with voice and text.
- Others can see your friends list.
- Others can communicate with voice, text or invites.
- Others can see your Xbox profile details.
- You can share your real name with friends of friends.
Note: Changes won’t take effect until the account gets logged out and then logs back in
Meta Quest
Virtual reality headsets have brought a new level of immersive experiences for gamers. In VR, a player's natural environment goes away and is replaced by a widely-encompassing digital one. This makes keeping an eye on screen time and taking frequent breaks important to prioritize.
Among the most popular headset for gaming is the Meta Quest line of headsets, from the social media maker of Facebook, Instagram and so many other tools and networks used across the world.
The minimum age for using Meta Quest is 10 years old. Parents can create parent managed accounts, but will need to create their own Meta account first.
For more information, visit Meta Quest family resources.
Steam
Steam is a gaming platform primarily for gaming PCs to buy, sell, and play video games. It features popular AA video game titles from major publishers like EA, as well as indie games published on its storefront.
Steam has a "Family View" feature that includes parental controls. In settings in both the Steam app or the Steam website, parents can set up an account with "Family Sharing."
From there, parents set a PIN and then are able to manage parental controls which include: limiting content access; setting game time limits; getting regular screen time reports; limiting access to the store and changing chat settings on the platform.
Twitch
Gaming isn’t just about playing the games — it’s also about sharing those experiences, watching others play, and connecting with others along the way. Twitch is the largest video game streaming platform. It allows people to stream themselves or, more commonly, view and interact with other streamers. Like most social media platforms, the minimum age to use Twitch is 13.
Twitch does not have parental controls but does offer settings to control what you share and what content you have access to. On Twitch, you have some controls over what you experience and how you can communicate on the platform.
"Content Preferences" prevent certain types of content from being presented or searched for on Twitch.
To set Content Preferences:
- Go to your account profile.
- Select "Settings."
- Choose Content Preferences
Here you can hide content for the following settings:
→ Hide Content With Content Classification Label
→ Hide Drugs, Intoxication, or Excessive Tobacco Use
→ Hide Gambling
→ Hide Violent and Graphic Depictions
→ Hide Significant Profanity or Vulgarity
→ Hide Mature-Rated Games
Note: If your account follows a streamer, that streamer’s content will be exempt from these content restrictions.
You can also limit certain content from chat by turning on chat filtering.
To set up chat filtering:
- Go to a chat
- In a chat window, click the three dots on the right. This takes you to "Chat Settings."
- Choose "Hide Offensive Language."
- To enable chat filtering, turn on "Enable Filtering" in chat
This will enable filtering for the following:
→ Discrimination
→ Sexually Explicit Language
→ Harassment
→ Profanity
Block whispers from strangers
"Whispers" are what Twitch calls private chat messages. Enabling this setting prevents anyone you don’t follow, subscribe to from sending a direct message.
To block whispers from strangers:
- Go to your account profile.
- Select "Settings."
- Choose "Security & Privacy."
