BIG Games Pets/Pet Simulator X (2024)

Pet Simulator X is a Roblox experience developed by BIG Games Pets. It is the third game in the Pet Simulator series. The game has a successor with the title Pet Simulator 99.

On March 27, 2022, the game was content deleted, however the deletion was removed later.

Controversy[]

On 29 October 2021 BIG Games announced that they had minted a series of Earthquake (NFTs) based around the pets seen in Pet Simulator, saying that users who purchase the NFTs would receive in-experience benefits, including the ability to own the pets featured in their NFT collection.^[1][2] This announcement was met with overwhelming amounts of community backlash, with most users pointing out the use of NFTs in art scams and the environmental harm caused by minting and purchasing NFTs. Others pointed out that the NFTs were against Roblox's Terms of Service, which stated that Roblox would not allow "deceptive schemes on our platform, including [..] selling Roblox assets for real money off-platform."^[3][4]

BuildIntoGames denied these criticisms, stating that the Terms of Service clause only applied to users who were using black market websites to sell limiteds for real-world money. He also stated that they never minted the NFTs "with morality in mind", stating that they only got involved with NFTs because they thought the tech behind it was cool.^[5] BuildIntoGames' response sparked further community backlash.

In response, BuildIntoGames donated $25,000 to MrBeast's #TeamSeas charity, saying "I don't hate the environment.. I'm just a geek that thinks blockchain is cool." ^[6] This donation received mixed reactions, with many praising BuildIntoGames for donating to help the environment, but others claiming that he only made the donation to virtue signal and that if he truly wanted to help the environment, he should scrap his NFT project. These responses were largely ignored, and all twelve NFTs would go on to sell for a total price of US$153,686.72, emitting 576 kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere, or the equivalent of using a computer for 10 years or 12,000 kilometers (nine-tenths the diameter of Earth).^[7] Consequentially, BuildIntoGames would end up making a profit from selling these NFTs, despite the massive amounts of backlash that he received for minting them. Shedletsky, who enthusiastically supports NFTs and cryptocurrency, would point out this number as the NFTs were selling out, which prompted further community backlash from various YouTube celebrities, such as KonekoKittenWasTaken,^[8] StarCode_RealKreek,^[9] and ImNotThinknoodles,^[10] and other developers.^[11]

On November 17, 2021, Roblox issued a statement following the NFT auction, stating that they would be "conducting an internal review of what occurred on and off of the platform. Once we have concluded our review, we will resolve it with the developer."^[12] The following day, Roblox issued the following ruling, prohibiting the sale of NFTs in exchange for on-platform experiences or items. An update to the Community Standards section of the Roblox Terms of Service was made to reflect this ruling.

Our Terms of Service and Community Standards exist for the safety and wellbeing of all users.

When off-platform transactions occur that are tied to on-platform items or experiences, it is impossible for us to monitor the details of that event and it blocks our ability to validate or mediate any claims. Moreover, it can also violate the terms of our app store partners. In some scenarios, it can be okay to give away something off-platform (such as over social media) for free as part of community-building efforts.

To clarify this, we have updated the Roblox Economy section of the Community Standards to be even more explicit about what is not allowed.

Roblox, https://devforum.roblox.com/t/notice-review-of-recent-off-platform-behavior/1555041/277

Pet Simulator X gained an additional 2,239 dislikes^[13][14] (an approval rating dip to 95.735% from 95.773%, according to RoMonitor Stats)^[15] following the NFT announcement post, a significant uptick from receiving only a few hundred dislikes over the same 48 hour time span on any other given day.^[16][17]

One consistent form of controversy is how the game was responsible for over 85% of website outages within the past year. Many fans, even fans of the game, agree that one game tanking Roblox servers for all users is not a good sign.

References[]