Roblox changes PlayerCharacterDestroyBehavior default on November 11
Roblox will make PlayerCharacterDestroyBehavior enabled by default on November 11. Test removal handlers now, especially data saves that yield before reading player values.
Roblox will change PlayerCharacterDestroyBehavior on November 11 so that Default acts like Enabled. According to the November 4, 2026 announcement, this rollout phase affects games using Default: the server will automatically destroy old Player and Character instances after departure or respawn. Roblox says the cleanup prevents a common class of server memory leaks.
Where existing code can break
Roblox says Player instances will receive Destroy 5 seconds after PlayerRemoving handlers run. That delay accommodates saving code that yields before accessing child instances. During the delay, the engine retains only a weak reference, allowing normal garbage collection. Character models will be destroyed immediately after CharacterRemoving handlers run.
The announcement warns that late reads of a departed Player’s children can fail. Character child reads after yielding in CharacterRemoving are also at risk, and destroyed Player or Character instances cannot be re-parented. Our recommendation is to treat this as a data-lifetime change, not just a memory improvement: saving and leaderboard code need focused checks.
Test before the default changes
Roblox recommends switching Default to Enabled and playtesting before November 11; games already using Enabled need no action. We'd start by testing departures and respawns this week, including handlers that yield. Following Roblox’s migration guidance, capture required player values before yielding and pass those values into later saving work. Apply the same approach to CharacterRemoving.
Roblox permits Disabled as a temporary fallback while teams update code. The announcement says that option will disappear at the end of February: the property will be removed, and the behavior will apply across every experience.