He was planning a real attack. It was in this game that he created a model of his school

NASK, i.e. Scientific and Academic Computer Network - National Research Institute, is a unit supervised by the Ministry of Digitization. He deals with, among others: cybersecurity and digital education. Already in May, the Institute published a report on the popular computer game, which was discussed today by the Chief Commander of the Police, General Insp. Marek Boroń at a special meeting convened by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. It was the result of eight tragic incidents involving knives that occurred or were to occur in schools, mainly in Masovia.

As a result of the services' action on Friday, October 9, when rumors appeared about the alleged accumulation of attacks by teenage knives in Poland, the police detained 117 people in connection with, for example, threats on the Internet or possession of dangerous tools. These were people mainly aged 13 to 17, but there were also younger ones. Criminal proceedings were initiated in 105 cases. The teenagers will now be dealt with by the family court or the prosecutor's office. General Marek Boroń announced today that among them was a boy who created a model of his school in the Roblox computer game and, fascinated by the plot, planned an attack based on it, which he intended to carry out in reality. He had weapons, ammunition, knives and knife sketches - added the Chief of Police. However, he did not provide information about what school, city or province the teenager was from.

Basically, Roblox is not a specific game, but a huge platform where children freely enter thousands of different virtual worlds. NASK called Roblox a "digital backyard". There, the child has online "contact" with other players. The game becomes a meeting place not only with friends, but also with strangers. The child can create and design different worlds there. At first it looks like ordinary fun. After a while, it turns out that the atmosphere is completely different - the screen dims, a corridor appears, disturbing music starts playing, and something suddenly appears on the screen. According to NASK, the characters move faster, the sounds are louder, and the "jokes" turn into a series of sudden scares and scenes that can be really terrifying for a younger child.

In 2026, the platform achieved industry leadership with up to 150 million players daily. Users spend over 10 billion hours a month here - more than Steam, PlayStation and Fortnite combined. More importantly, more than half of the players are under 16 years of age - NASK informs in a report on Roblox.

NASK further states that there are also games that are based on violence. There have been cases based directly on real tragedies. This was the case with a game that caused controversy in Norway - "Utøya, Norwegian back story". Players found themselves on an island and escaped from an attacker dressed as a policeman, in a scenario inspired by the bloody attack of July 22, 2011 - we read in the report.

NASK further informs that in 2023 and 2024, cases of the so-called "condo games" - unofficial, hidden games containing sexual content. According to the institute, creators circumvent moderation by changing names, using codes and moving users between servers. Users chat with each other live, and - according to the institute - in many cases, conversations very quickly move beyond the platform: to Discord, WhatsApp or other messengers.

As NASK further states, during registration, the lowest possible date of birth is January 1, 2021. In practice, this means that the platform allows very young children to create accounts. Just a few clicks to get access. To use chat and social features, you must complete age verification. For this purpose, Roblox uses solutions based on image analysis and machine learning. The system asks for a selfie or a short video recording. The algorithm analyzes facial features, proportions, skin structure, signs of aging - and compares them with patterns learned on large data sets. On this basis, it assigns the user to one of the age categories, which then limit access to communication functions - we read in the report. However, NASK lists various ways in which young users effectively cheat the system. This can be done by putting on makeup or growing a beard.

Roblox itself is not a threat. It is a tool. The threat comes when this tool finds its way into an environment we don't understand - and we don't control. And in the case of children, it is the lack of this awareness that is the biggest problem - informs NASK.