Roblox is removing Classic Heads and players are furious

Roblox says getting rid of Classic Heads is about "self-expression," but players disagree

On Tuesday, Roblox announced an update to its marketplace policy for in-game character heads, and the response from players has been nothing short of fury. Roblox avatar heads currently come in two forms: Classic Heads and Dynamic Heads. Classic Heads are simple creations that are entirely static, displaying only one facial expression, while Dynamic Heads are animated, and can change to depict emotion. Many Roblox players — especially those who have been playing since the game's early days — prefer Classic Heads over Dynamic Heads. But this week, Roblox announced plans to convert all Classic Heads to Dynamic Heads.

"We are building a platform where every user can express themselves authentically," a Roblox spokesperson said in a post announcing the change. "We just announced an update to our Heads policy in pursuit of this mission. Classic Heads and Faces are static and do not support the defined cage regions or animation requirements of this policy, nor do they allow for users to express themselves. While we want to empower creators to keep the same look and feel if they’d like, animation is vital in user self-expression. Therefore, we are completing the conversion of all Classic Heads and Faces to Dynamic Heads and we expect this work to complete in February 2026."

Per the recently updated Heads policy (which went into effect immediately), all new head submissions must feature a caged model that envelopes the head model to "support accessory layering," defined eye and mouth regions that "respond to blink and mouth open/close animations," and the ability to make a minimum of 17 specific facial expressions.

Roblox's recent post on the new Dynamic Heads marketplace policy sets out a timeline that also has players concerned. In addition to the new requirements for Head submissions laid out on Tuesday, Roblox also announced a March 3 deadline for the transition. Any Heads that aren't in compliance by that date will be removed from the marketplace. On June 15, any heads that are not in compliance will be removed from user inventories — that is to say, gone forever.

"After this point, Roblox will attempt a best effort to update all remaining Heads to be compliant while respecting artistic intent," Roblox said of the June deadline. "Creators will have the opportunity to reject these changes if they do not approve. If heads are not updated by creators or by Roblox, we will remove the Head from user inventories."

Roblox is largely a platform populated with player-made content, and the new policy means that creators who don't update their Classic Head models to comply with the new Dynamic Heads policy will simply have their work removed from the in-game marketplace, and later from player inventories entirely. But fixing these designs will likely prove to be quite time-consuming, especially for in-game creators who have cranked out hundreds of Classic Heads over the years.

"I don't even know how the format for updating the faces is going to be," one creator shared on X. "I'm honestly super worried…"

"I'm the same, and having [made] more than 200 faces I don't know what to expect," another creator replied.

The backlash from elsewhere in the playerbase has been intense, too. Classic Heads are mainly popular with long-time players, many of whom are mourning the decision to delete Heads with static faces from the marketplace. Some fear that the game's classic body models could be the next thing on the chopping block.

"Will R6 be the last thing we have left of the Roblox we know?" one player posted on Reddit, referencing the R6 avatar rig — a simple, blocky body consisting of only six stiff, inflexible parts.

"I hate to say it but it’s a question of when not if R6 gets removed," another player posted in the same thread, citing concerns that Roblox may soon enforce the more complicated R15 rig as the default avatar in the future. The R15 is already required to play many games on Roblox.

Roblox says this move to Dynamic Heads is all about freedom of expression, but players say it's about convenience and control. Redditor TypicalRobloxEnjoyer — whose flair on the /r/Roblox subreddit reads, "Im obsessed with old roblox culture" — recently posted a screenshot of an undated community poll in which 98% of respondents said they prefer 2D faces over Dynamic Heads.

"I bet that the 2% that voted for dynamic faces are roblox's PR team," they added.

Aside from the posts announcing the upcoming deadlines (and offering guides to help creators convert their Classic Heads to Dynamic Heads), Roblox hasn't commented on the issue, nor responded to players begging the company to reverse its decision.

The Dynamic Heads debacle comes after months of controversy for Roblox, which recently implemented a requirement forcing players to provide facial photo verification or a copy of their ID before being allowed to access in-game chat. The move was a result of concerns over the lack of safeguards for child players, something Roblox has faced substantial criticism for over the years. Many have blamed the game's previously lax ID verification system for the various dangers — including disappearances — faced by children who encounter predators in-game. But like the Classic Heads vs. Dynamic Heads debacle, many players find the game's new safety policy as a convenient way to harvest user data under the guise of keeping kids safe.

"We went from Cheez-It Logo to STRAIGHT UP DISABLING CHAT FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANNA GIVE THEIR FACE," one furious player wrote on Reddit. "OH AND ON TOP OF THAT WE ARE REMOVING CLASSIC FACES. WHAT IS UP WITH ROBLOX AND FACES???"