The New York Stock Exchange welcomed Roblox executives and guests to celebrate its direct listing on March 10, 2021.
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RobloxThe popular children’s gaming platform that generates billions of dollars in revenue each year in the virtual world is becoming real.
Some game developers on the platform will be able to charge users real money instead of relying on payments through Roblox’s digital currency Robux, the company said on Friday. The change only applies to so-called premium games, or those that require money to play.
The new model, announced at the company’s annual developer conference in San Jose, California, draws on lessons learned from the traditional video game industry, allowing developers to make money selling games and raise and lower prices based on market demand. Game creators can now more easily sell products to users without having to deal with intermediary virtual currencies. This is part of the company’s ambitious plan to drive 10% of global gaming content sales through the Roblox platform and reach 300 million daily active users.
Roblox chief product officer Manuel Bronstein said the goal is to “increase the platform’s appeal to existing developers” who want more options to create and make money from games.
Payouts will be on a sliding scale, with higher-cost games giving creators a larger share of revenue.
For a game that sells for $50, the creator gets 70% of the revenue. Payments for costs of $30 and $10 will be 60% and 50% respectively. Roblox users will be able to pay in local currencies from their computers later this year, and the company plans to expand payments to other devices in the future.
While most Roblox games will still be free to play, the company hopes the new pricing plan will “create incentives” for developers and smaller game studios who “want to do bigger things on the platform” and get more Big payout, the company said Bronstein.
“In order to participate in the broader gaming market, we need to expand into all forms of gaming,” Bronstein said.
Most of Roblox’s revenue comes from the sale of Robux, which people often use to buy virtual goods. Roblox takes 30% of these sales, and the developer gets the rest.
Roblox explain In August, second-quarter sales increased 31% year-on-year to US$893.5 million, while net loss narrowed to US$207.2 million from US$282.8 million in the same period last year.
This isn’t the first time Roblox has tried incorporating real-world currency. Earlier this year, the company launched a revamped digital marketplace, now called the Creator Store, where developers can purchase certain features from other creators using real currency instead of Robux. The company’s Avatar Marketplace, used to purchase digital goods such as virtual hats, still relies on the use of Robux.
Other ways Roblox has been trying to diversify its business include online advertising and giving more users more options for creating and selling digital goods. The company said it will soon launch tools designed to help developers better price their digital products and will experiment with regional pricing options.
By working with U.S. users ages 13 and up, developers will also eventually be able to Shopping. The company said Friday it will begin testing in-game shopping capabilities with creators, brands and other unspecified online retailers in the fourth quarter.
Shopify said it plans a “larger launch” early next year.
Roblox shares fell nearly 3% to $42.56 on Friday afternoon and are now down about 7% for the year, while the Nasdaq is up 11% in 2024.
The stock has fallen nearly 40% since its first day of trading in 2021, when Roblox’s business boomed as kids flocked to the app during the pandemic.
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