Roblox’s famed “oof” sound has been removed from the platform due to licensing issues

After solidifying itself as a massive piece of Roblox's community culture for over a decade, the memorable and fan-favorite "oof" soundbite has been removed from the platform. In an announcement posted on July 26, 2022, via Twitter, Roblox stated that the removal came after a multitude of licensing issues were brought to the company's attention. To combat these issues and refrain from pushing off the inevitable, the sound was removed and replaced with a new, Roblox-owned version.

Despite many player's beliefs, the "oof" soundbite did not originate from Roblox. It was instead created for the early 2000's video game Messiah. In this game, players take control of a cherub named Bob who receives a mission from God to visit Earth. Bob must stop Satan from ruling the world and save all of mankind in the process. After seeing the state that Earth is in, however, God decides that Bob should give up the mission and return home, to which Bob denies. Upon his denial, a cutscene is shown in which God willingly discards Bob and strands him on the moon—this is where the "oof" sound effect can be heard.

It wasn't until 2019 that using this audio become problematic for Roblox, when the sound's creator, Tommy Tallarico, tweeted "I'm not mad at Roblox & I don't want them to take my 'OOF' sound out. It's an honor that something I created 20 years ago has become so iconic & a part of pop culture. I just need to be fairly compensated and I've never been cheap."

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This issue was seemingly resolved nearly a year later, albeit in private, and the "oof" sound appeared in-tact. The solution? A payment of $1 USD or 100 Robux each time that a developer wanted to use the "oof" sound in their experience. Tallarico also created Roblox sound bundles of varying values that developers could purchase from his website and use however they pleased. These bundles include a variety of sounds, in addition to the classic "oof."

Now, however, in July of 2022, the "oof" sound effect has been fully removed from Roblox's public media database. Though this removal may be disappointing, it isn't surprising considering the massive audio wipe that Roblox underwent in March of 2022, during which the company privated millions of user-created sounds within its audio library. Roblox has been able to avoid copyright infringement and licensing issues for nearly two decades. As it continues to market itself as a technologically advanced and serious company, especially regarding its involvement in the Metaverse, the time has come for an independently-focused rebrand and content evaluation.

At the time of this article's publication, it's unknown if the current "oof" replacement sound is permanent, but many players are hoping that it's not.

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