There are many ways to measure the success of any business, especially when it comes to the video game industry. Still, profit is a metric that’s hard to dispute. In the case of Roblox, profit also expands outwards, to the numerous content creators who use this UGC platform to make their own gaming experience and monetize them as well.
A recent study by Nordicity, an analytic company specializing in economy, delves deep into the success of this gaming platform. The report shows that Roblox paid its creators over 803 million USD between June 2023 and June 2024. That’s nearly 70 million USD each month, which is rather impressive. The implications of this figure are big, but so are some other factors that show just how incredibly important and influential Roblox has become.
The report details additional factors that make Roblox such an economic powerhouse. For example, the game generated about 1.2 billion USD in GDP for the USA between 2017 and 2023. That’s equal to almost 18,000 full-time jobs in the United States.
Compared to the figures between 2022 and 2023, the amount paid to the creators in Roblox rose by 18 percent. This shows not only that more people are engaged in creating and playing Roblox games, but also that the platform has means of monetizing this activity.
The creator economy for Roblox uses its in-game currency, the Robux. With around 80 million daily users, Roblox is moving Robux at a staggering rate. Out of every fiat currency to digital currency payment, the platform gets about 13% of that as instant revenue. However, the final profitability of such a behemoth like Roblox, especially keeping in mind just how much the developers invest in R&D, is a complicated matter. Many analysts believe that for long-term success, Roblox needs to expand its array of monetization mechanisms. However, Roblox needs to be careful not to antagonize the player base, or give it the feeling that it’s “selling out”. For now, Roblox is sticking to its guns and that is clearly paying off for everyone, as well as protecting its bottom line appeal – the ability to attract new and young players.
The big advantage for any media company – no matter if they operate in the domain of gaming, streaming services, or anything else – is the ability and potential to attract new users. The mechanisms to attract young users, including those who are just entering their teenage years, are crucial. Through that process, companies build loyal followings that often last for years and even decades.
Media giants, including Netflix and Warner Bros, invest hundreds of millions of USD each year in outreach to that demographic. Roblox, for now at least, has that group of users locked in. The latest data shows that around 32 million active daily users of the platform are 13-and-under. While that might have its own set of challenges – for example, Turkey recently blocked access to Roblox due to the risk of exploitation of minors – the gears of player onboarding are spinning perfectly for its developers. This is the biggest benefit for its user-generated gaming content creators as well. As long as that set of gears remains in alignment, the sum of 803 million USD for UGC is likely going to be surpassed.
