Roblox is currently one of the fastest-growing online gaming platforms available today. People are surprised to learn that it's older than they think. Roblox was created in 2004 by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel for the Roblox Corporation. Baszucki envisioned a simple game that would allow users to create their own games and share them with others.
Roblox was released on September 1, 2006, available only on PC. Before Roblox turned ten years old, multiple versions were released for iOS, Android, and Xbox One.
In the first quarter of 2021, there were 42.1 million daily active users, increasing 79% year over year. A company report stated that the number of daily active users older than 13 more than doubled (111% growth). Roblox user demographics reinforce its ‘it's not just for kids‘ message to the financial markets.
It is estimated that there are 199 million monthly Roblox users. Over the past 18 months, Roblox's user base has grown significantly.
The game has grown organically, allowing it to endure competition from a wide range of sources. Roblox beat Microsoft's failed Project Spark on the Xbox and Sony's Dreams on the PlayStation.
With the sudden growth of Roblox's user base during the pandemic, the game has created crossover events and promotions. Roblox has collaborated with Gucci and multiple artists and brands.
Roblox Game Studio's easy-to-use interface makes it easy to create games without any programming knowledge. Consequently, it has become more accessible to users of all ages, including kids, where it has seen the most growth.
Roblox Origins
In August of 1989, David Baszucki founded Knowledge Revolution in August 1989, which concentrated on mechanical simulation software and educational physics. During that time as president of the company, he met Erik Cassel.
After MSC Software acquired the company for 20 million USD, he and his business partner Erik Cassel assumed senior roles. As a result, they were able to make an exciting new start: the creation of Roblox.
During 2004, Cassel and Baszucki worked together in Menlo Park, California, consolidating their concept and launching a new project. They took their love of physics and decided to turn it into a fun game for children. After a few years at MSC Software, they remained friends and decided to start another new project together.
Seeing children doing amazing and funny things with his programs, he got the inspiration for Roblox. He started working on his idea in 2004, and in 2005 a version was made available for beta testing. In 2005 it came out of beta and was renamed Roblox. Interestingly, the application was initially called Dynablock during its first test phase.
Roblox added new features in 2007: private messaging, a search bar, ticket developers, clubs, and character customization. Roblox's first currency was “Roblox Points,” which were given away as daily login bonuses. The creators changed the name to “Robux” on 14 May 2007.
Roblox also discontinued Tix tickets as a form of currency. If players logged into Roblox, they would get a few Tix each day which players could exchange for Robux. In March 2016, Roblox removed Tix tickets from its platform.
Children under thirteen can now communicate via a menu of predefined messages since Roblox added a safe chat feature in March 2007. Roblox is very popular with children, so the Safe Chat feature is handy.
?Because Roblox has become compliant with COPPA, it is a necessary feature. In 2016, the safe chat feature was permanently removed. The platform introduced a new system based on a set of acceptable words for users under the age of 13 and a set of words to be blocked for older users.
Roblox Premium
In August of 2007, Roblox released a premium membership service called the “Builders Club.” It was rebranded as Roblox Premium in September 2019.
Roblox launched the Developer Exchange program on October 1, 2013, enabling developers to convert Robux earned from their games into real-world currency. You must be over 13 years old, have a premium membership, and have at least 100,000 Robux in your account to earn money. You can also exchange at least as much Robux for real money with the company.
As the game became more popular, they began to broaden their horizons. Roblox opened up to mobile devices; on December 11, 2012, an iOS version of Roblox was released. And in July of 2014, a version of Android was released. To date, 75.4% of its mobile revenue comes from Apple devices due to the platform's large US audience.
Despite having a web presence in Windows since 2004, the company released a standalone launcher compatible with Windows 10 in June 2016.
The Roblox physics engine was updated from a block-oriented style to a smoother and more realistic style on March 31st, 2015.
Roblox launched on Xbox One on November 20th, with 15 games chosen by the Roblox staff. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board must now approve Roblox games for the Xbox One.
In April 2016, Roblox released Roblox VR for the Oculus Rift in partnership with Oculus. More than ten million games were available in 3D when it was released,
Throughout 2017-19, Roblox updated its outdated server technology; the old technology frequently experienced outages. The company removed the guest mode, which allowed users to play Roblox without creating an account.
Roblox Revenue
As of 2017, Roblox officials stated during a developer conference that game developers had earned over $30 million. In November, the iOS version of Roblox crossed the $1 billion revenue mark in short order after reaching $1.5 billion in June of 2020. In October, it already crossed the $2 billion mark, making it the second-highest revenue maker on the IOS platform.?
Roblox developers collectively earned over $150 million in 2020. In 2020, Roblox had overall revenue of $2.29 billion, making it the third highest-grossing game.
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, Xbox One, macOS, Fire OS, Macintosh operating systems, Classic Mac OS
Nominations: BAFTA Games Award for EE Mobile Game of the Year, Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Videogame
Modes: Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game
Who is Roblox's first user?
Admin was the first registered user on Roblox. The user “Admin” joined on June 30, 2004, with the ID of 1.
What is the oldest Roblox face?
Purple Alien was the first limited face that the platform sold for Tix before going limited.