A new rival is targeting videogame giant Roblox's core audience of amateur creators.

Alphabet-owned Google and Unity Software on Wednesday launched Playground, an artificial-intelligence-powered game platform that allows users to create games without prior coding experience.

Unity is a tool software creator that allows developers to create games and simulations. Among Us and Pokémon Go are some of the popular games created using Unity's game engine.

The Wednesday announcement had initially rattled investors, sending Roblox shares down 3.8% in premarket trading, but the stock edged up 0.3% after the open. Peer Take-Two Interactive Software dipped 0.1%. Meanwhile, Alphabet stock fell 0.6% and Unity Software shares declined 1.1% on Wednesday.

The new AI gaming platform could hurt Roblox's competitive advantage by breaking its unique hold on amateur game creation. While its users learn to code in Roblox Studio, Playground allows anyone to use natural language prompts to auto-generate custom games instantly on Google's web platform.

Playground could lure users away from Roblox, where high platform fees have long been a pain point. Roblox keeps around 70% of its player spending, leaving creators with a small cut. Open engine tools like Unity, however, allow developers to keep much higher portions of revenue.

While Roblox maintains a firm grip on Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it has struggled to expand into older demographics. The new Google-Unity platform aims to target creators over the age of 18, giving adult gamers an alternative space to play.

Google and Unity said it would expand on Playground later this year by launching Unity Spark, a new product that adds professional-level mechanics, 3-D capabilities, and flexibility within the gaming template.

The product announcement came as Roblox has contended with mounting Wall Street skepticism and regulatory heat.

Roblox stock has fallen nearly 46% this year. Jefferies recently downgraded the stock to Underperform, the equivalent of a Sell rating, with a $38 price target. Analysts have warned that the company's projected bookings growth was overly optimistic -- especially since Roblox changed which games to promote on its home page and recommendation feeds, focusing on long-term player retention instead of games that made money quickly.

The videogame sector has continued to feel the pressure of rapid AI advances. Videogame stocks slipped last month after Meta Platforms launched new AI tools that let users transform ideas into complete 2-D and 3-D mobile games. While that the selloff may have been overdone, the long-term impact of Meta's new suite remains uncertain.