THE SHORT ANSWER
Roblox Studio's new UIShadow beta adds text shadows, inset shadows, knockout shadows, and gradient shadows. Developers can enable it via File > Beta Features > Upgraded UIShadows. Publishing to live games is blocked during beta; a known issue ignores Color and Transparency on rich text shadows.
- Four new UIShadow modes: Text, Inset, Knockout (via ShowBehindParent), and Gradient (via child UIGradient)
- Enabled through File > Beta Features > Upgraded UIShadows; requires Studio restart
- Live publishing disabled during beta; features only work in Studio until client release
- Performance guidance: keep on-screen UIShadows under 100 for best results
- Known bug: UIShadow.Color and Transparency ignored on rich text; fix in progress
Roblox has opened a Studio beta for expanded UIShadow capabilities, giving developers four new ways to add depth and visual polish to game interfaces. The update, announced October 14, 2026, adds text shadows, inset shadows, knockout shadows, and gradient shadows to the existing UIShadow system launched earlier this year.
How to Access the Beta
Developers can enable the feature by navigating to File > Beta Features in Roblox Studio, checking Upgraded UIShadows, and restarting Studio when prompted. Once restarted, the new shadow types appear in the Explorer, Properties panel, Styling system, and scripting APIs. A sample placefile, NewUIShadow.rbxl (97.7 KB), is provided with usage examples.
Text Shadows
Setting a UIShadow's Mode to Text casts a shadow directly from the characters in a TextLabel, TextButton, or TextBox. Unlike shape shadows, text shadows follow each glyph's contours rather than the element's bounding box. Spread, Inset, and ShowBehindParent have no effect in this mode. Multiple UIShadow instances with different modes can be stacked on the same parent — for example, a text shadow plus a background shape shadow — and multiple text shadows can be applied simultaneously.
Inset Shadows
Enabling Inset renders the shadow on top of and inside the parent element, creating a recessed or pressed appearance. Offset controls the inset direction, while BlurRadius softens the edge. When Inset is true, positive Spread values expand the shadow toward the center instead of outward.
Knockout Shadows
Setting ShowBehindParent to false masks the portion of the shadow directly behind the parent. By default, the full shadow renders — including the area beneath the element — which can darken transparent or semi-transparent UI. Disabling ShowBehindParent punches out that overlap, leaving only the visible halo. This property has no effect when Inset is true or Mode is set to Text.
Gradient Shadows
Adding a UIGradient as a child of a UIShadow applies a color gradient across the shadow, layered on top of the shadow's base Color property. This allows directional fades and multi-tone glow effects.
Limitations and Known Issues
During the beta period, experiences using these new UIShadow capabilities cannot be published live. They will become available in-game once the features graduate to the client release.
Roblox recommends keeping fewer than 100 UIShadows on-screen at once for best performance.
A known issue affects rich text: when a text shadow is applied to rich text, the UIShadow's Color and Transparency properties are ignored. The team is working on a fix.
Credits
The expanded shadow system was built with contributions from @luigiburger333, @jaydubs808, @uiuxartist, and @DrRanchDressing. Roblox says it will continue expanding UI capabilities based on developer feedback.