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Roblox is one of the most played, most popular, and most varied games currently available, and all of that has helped make Roblox one of the most profitable as well.
Roblox is one of the more unique and interesting free to play games currently on the market. This is largely down to the fact that unlike many of its competitors, Roblox actually gates off choice content behind a paywall.
This strange hybrid of offering free and paid content side by side has led to Roblox earning an incredible $2.29 billion in 2020, making it the third highest earning free to play game of the year.
Freedom and creativity pays off for Roblox
The most recent reports show that Roblox has a player count of roughly 150 million regular players, and it is the most popular game for gamers under the age of 13.
What makes this game unique is that this game doesn’t have a predefined way to play. Rather than creating dedicated game modes that everyone signs in to play, Roblox puts the tools of creation in the players’ hands. This lets the players come up with whatever they want.
Roblox Studios, the program used to create and program games in Roblox, features a simplified graphical interface, objects, and the ability to adjust the properties of everything in the game. This drastically lowers the barrier of entry and allows anyone to make their own games.
To encourage this community creativity, Roblox allows players to place microtransactions, which use the Robux currency, in their games. When a player buys something in a creator's game, that creator gets Robux added to their own account as well.
Players can then exchange these Robux for real world money, albeit at a much smaller rate than what the developer asks for to buy them. At the moment, 1,000 Robux is worth $3.50 but to buy just 800 Robux players will have to spend $9.99. This is how Roblox can continue to make money while still supporting players who make fun and creative games.
Real money brings real concern
One major recurring concern is that Roblox is effectively running its own economy. The core player base for the game may not be ready to make responsible decisions that involve real money. Scams and shady business practices are hard to regulate even in the real world, let alone on an online game.
Roblox also makes roughly $12.50 for every 1,000 Robux sold, but only pays out $3.50 through their exchange program. In effect, Roblox makes three times as much off of a creator's work than the creator themselves.
Players shouldn’t look at Roblox and expect to make their fortunes in game. However, it still works as a fun and safe environment to build up game design skills and play with friends. The sheer scope and scale of this game shows that it pays off for Roblox in a big way.
