Roblox, the massive game creation platform directed primarily at kids, canceled its annual Roblox Developers Conference after one of those developers was being “disorderly,” fought the police, and was arrested for having a concealed firearm in his vehicle, “possession of armor-piercing munition,” and “large capacity magazine activity.”
“After being arrested, the adult male told officers he had a firearm inside his vehicle,” United States Park Police (USPP) told 404 Media in a statement. “The firearm was recovered from the vehicle and the adult male was also charged with weapon violations.” 404 Media also reviewed the suspect’s booking information, which noted four charges.
When reached for comment, Roblox directed 404 Media to its statement on Twitter.
“In an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel the Roblox Innovation Awards due to a potential security concern,” Roblox said. “We are working with all appropriate authorities and everyone is safe. We take safety very seriously. This is not how we wanted RDC to end.”
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the details of the arrest.
Roblox is more like a platform for user generated content than it is a traditional video game. Users can use Roblox to create their own games, which they can then share and sell to other users. Some of these games have hundreds of thousands of players. Roblox itself is free, but some games, and items within those games cost money, and Roblox takes a sizable cut of every transaction.
On Saturday, Roblox was holding its ninth annual Roblox Innovation Awards, where the company celebrates notable creators in categories like Best New Experience, Best Use of Tech, and Best Item. Roblox first held an in person award ceremony for the Innovation Awards in 2022. This year's award ceremony took place at Fort Mason, a national park in northern San Francisco.
According to USPP, “On Saturday, September 9 at about 2:15 p.m., the United States Park Police was notified about a security concern posted online related to an event on Fort Mason. Additional USPP officers responded to investigate and provide more security. No active incident took place and no one was injured on Fort Mason.”
At about 3:15 PM, USPP said, “USPP officers were requested at the event by security personnel for a disorderly adult male. The adult male fought USPP officers and was arrested.”
San Francisco Sheriff’s Office records show that Mikhail Jacob Olson, 25, was booked on September 9, 8:32PM. His record references statute 32310(a) PC/F, which according to California law means “any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives any large-capacity magazine is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or imprisonment.”
Olson is known as Simbuilder in the Roblox community, and is the creator of a popular Roblox game called “Vehicle Simulator,” which is focused on driving around a virtual city. According to his Linkedin page, Olson is based in Tucson, Arizona. The San Francisco Chronicle also reported that property records show he owns a home there.
The arrest record also cited statutes relating to having a concealed weapon, possession of armor-piercing ammunition, and leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle.
