Everything You Need to Know About Roblox

Roblox can be compared to YouTube – it uses the same approach of ‘user-generated content’. However, the content here involves games created by players instead of videos like in YouTube.

Roblox is immensely popular among both children and adults. They can upload the applications for their smartphones, game consoles, or computers, and then browse the catalog, picking out the games they would like to play. The system also has social features – you can add friends and chat with them during the game. 

History and Present Day of Roblox

Roblox was launched in 2006, and since then, it has been growing steadily. Nowadays, the number of its active users has reached 43.3 million per day. As for monthly users, the platform has over 207 million (the data is for September 2021). This number is much bigger than for Minecraft with its 140 million or Fortnite, boasting 10-15 million users. Two thirds of young kids play Roblox games in the USA, and about 1.5 million in the UK.

The platform is favorable for game developers, players, and other users who are continuously looking for new horizons. It is interesting to know that adults like to play Roblox games alongside their children, and 40% of them are women. Nevertheless, the platform is most popular among kids aged 10-12.

How to Make Games for Roblox?

Everyone can create games for Roblox. You just need to download the special Roblox Studio software. It helps make up virtual spaces for creating a game or experience. This results in fantastic involvement – about 2 million users are creators. That is 2% of all the players. About 100 thousand people can play the most popular games at the same time. 

Even young children can invent a simple game or make a virtual room for chatting with their friends. More experienced users create more complex games, and they can even make money by using Roblox’s currency, Robux, for purchasing in-game features and accessories and selling them. That is why well-known information platforms, such as ICOholder, regularly include Roblox in their lists. For example, more than $100 million was paid for the accessories in 2019. In 2018, Roblox started cooperation with educators due to the Creative Commons License. During the first year of this cooperation, the system covered the educational needs of more than 500 thousand kids.

Roblox is not a single game, but a unique platform where developers and users can see their creations and share the ideas with people around the globe. Users create Roblox’s catalog, too. The Roblox Studio software provides a lot of tools for developers/ The variety of these tools is amazing, so users can make racing games, shooters, RPGs, and whatever they want with the help of them.

Now, we would like to answer some questions asked by many people who wan tto learn more about Roblox and how it operates.

Is the Platform Safe for Kids?

Unfortunately, Roblox has had a lot of negative reviews and comments in social media related to its safety. Most of them are from parents who want to take care of their children and protect them from harmful content.

In June 2018, there was an attack on a 7-year-old player’s account when someone hacked the code of a game. There was a big investigation of this incident, and The Sun informed about its results. The amazingly big number of jihadis, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klan members were detected. 

The company has been working really hard to fight the outcomes of this scandal and make the platform much safer. They explain that they have continuously been reviewing their tools to fix all the loopholes in the platform allowing for dangerous access and assaults towards young users.

Does Roblox Allow for Making Money?

The platform has the currency called Robux that is used for buying game accessories, upgrades, cosmetic items, and skins. All the games here are free, but there is a Roblox Premium option. You can sign to it at a certain price and get a 10% bonus as well as a monthly subscription that depends on the tier you have bought your allowance for. This subscription allows players to make money when they create a game. A creator can set their individual price for every game they make. Then, they can obtain 24.5% of the overall profit from this game. Roblox, on its part, takes a huge 75.5% cut.

Every created game can have its individual monetization model and strategy. It can include full-price gaming if upfront payments, upgrades, in-game items and even a loot crate system are available for users. When you have a look at such popular games as ‘Adopt Me’ or ‘Anime Fighters Simulator’, you will notice that the overall price of their in-game options and items can reach about 200-400 Robux, and premium things can even cost 1,500-2,000 Robux.

All these facts mean that Robox can become a source of income for those who create games. There have already been stories about young entrepreneurs who started the business by receiving good income from the platform.

However, making income from game creation on Roblox is very difficult. If you compare your 24.5% and the platform’s 75.5%, you may assume that it is not always fair towards game creators and developers.

Present Day and Plans for the Future

Roblox is looking forward to expanding its in-game presence and headquarters in California. The in-game expansion will involve a new ‘Party Place’ feature. Players will be able to throw their individual online parties and hold other events, including concerts.

No matter how successful the company is nowadays, it should still struggle with dramatic controversies. The lack of community moderation is one of the biggest concerns. If there is no control, promoting anti-Semitism, mosque shootings, mass massacres, and slavery becomes possible. Some Roblox players can even use the platform for recruitment to radical or terrorist organizations. There are also stories about virtual assaults, hackers who demonstrate improper content to children, and child grooming.

Another source of discontent is factual exploitation of young developers who experience difficulties in making money for their creations. On the contrary, if you want your game to be visible to many users, you need to pay for advertisement space with Robux.

Nevertheless, the company has big plans for the future. Its SEO David Baszucki has expressed the vision of the company’s future as attracting older players, creating better quality graphics, and introducing new systems for improvement of game elements.

In general, the plan is to turn the platform into a specific ‘metaverse’, a virtual world that will help users to develop all forms of their creativity. For example, they will be able to visit the streets of Ancient Rome and walk around instead of reading the history book about it.

Final Thoughts

Apart from these grandiose plans for the future, Roblox continues growing nowadays and does not show any sign of slowing down. The company holds its own developer conferences and continues creating effective systems for its users’ protection. Community moderation seems to be the next step for further advancement.