This was a giant yr for Roblox. We made nice progress towards our imaginative and prescient of reimagining the way in which folks come collectively by constructing modern applied sciences that allow richer types of communication, creation, and immersion. Throughout Q3* of this yr, we noticed 70.2 million day by day lively customers on Roblox, which was up 20 % from the identical interval final yr, and customers spent 16 billion hours coming collectively to attach, discover, be taught, play, and create on our platform. As Roblox has grown, our accountability to our neighborhood is as robust as ever, and I’m proud that we’re maintaining security on the forefront of every part we do.
All through 2023, we shipped a broad vary of improvements that helped us make vital progress in the direction of our core objectives:
- Enabling 3D immersive communication.
- Making Roblox welcoming for everybody, all over the place.
- Rising our vibrant economic system so creators of all sizes can launch and scale a enterprise.
- Empowering folks to attach, create, and thrive in secure and civil experiences.
Check out some key highlights above, and browse on for extra element on the good work we did collectively:
The Progress of Our Platform
Immersive Communication
During the last yr, we’ve added a variety of recent instruments that make connection and communication on Roblox much more like actual life. We’ve made it easy for folks to deliver their family and friends onto Roblox by importing their contact checklist from their telephone or sharing a QR code with a pal. We additionally launched Chat with Voice, and we’ve been working to make sure that all avatar heads can make the most of facial animation. These advances allow new, richer methods for folks to precise themselves identical to they’d in the actual world. This yr, we additionally started permitting folks to customise associates’ names, together with utilizing their actual names (This fall 23) in the event that they’re over 17.
In 2023, enhancements we made to our superior real-time communication instruments created new alternatives for our builders. For instance, we launched a expertise that builders can incorporate into their experiences to permit folks to name each other as their avatars for impromptu conversations and gatherings (This fall 23). This expertise makes use of face monitoring, so folks can really see one another’s facial expressions and physique language whereas they’re speaking, which actually helps them really feel nearer. Actually, we launched our personal expertise based mostly on this expertise, referred to as Roblox Join, and I’ve been utilizing it to speak with my household on Roblox, which has simply been wonderful.
For this expertise, it’s nonetheless early. Our job is to supply infrastructure and instruments for the neighborhood and to see what our builders construct. And I’m at all times astonished by their creativity as increasingly more turns into potential on the platform.
Expressing Your self With Avatars You Love
We imagine that when somebody can categorical their genuine self with their avatar, they’ll have a greater time on Roblox. So this yr, we gave our neighborhood new methods to do this. This might imply constructing an avatar that appears just like the particular person does in actual life, or one which resembles a jetpack-wearing ninja, an emo princess, or virtually anything they’ll dream up. Right here’s how:
- We made it potential for creators to make and promote full avatar our bodies and standalone heads (Q3 23). We plan to develop entry to avatar creation and monetization and supply extra and higher methods for folks to speak and categorical themselves on Roblox. That is just the start of those efforts.
- We additionally need to present everybody on Roblox with the absolute best expertise for creating avatars, and our new Avatar Setup instrument makes that simpler than ever. And we’re taking avatar personalization to the following degree with the Studio beta of our mesh and picture APIs that can ultimately enable anybody to create a unique avatar in Roblox experiences.
Subsequent yr, we’ll double down on growing generative AI instruments that allow folks create avatars based mostly on photographs and textual content prompts. We’re being considerate about moderating the avatars created with AI and the interactions folks have with them, and making certain it’s accomplished with security and civility in thoughts.
On the identical time, we at all times need Roblox to be easy to make use of, so we’re making it simpler than ever for creators to make certain their experiences work for everybody.
- We’re growing expertise that permits folks to create distinctive and customized avatars and equipment (along with our basic avatars). However we wish all fashionable avatars to have the ability to entry experiences constructed for traditional avatars with out sacrificing options like layered clothes or facial expressions, so we constructed an adapter to make sure simply that.
- We wish all of Roblox to imitate real-world physics, which suggests objects reply to issues like gravity and aerodynamics. Our researchers are growing expertise to be sure that even hair and material on avatar outfits reacts to motion, collisions, and wind. They’re additionally engaged on methods for avatars to ultimately mimic the various complicated methods people transfer their our bodies.
The Way forward for Creation
Every thing you see on Roblox was imagined and constructed by our neighborhood, and we’re persevering with to evolve our platform to empower increasingly more of that creativity:
- In Q1* of this yr we started utilizing generative AI as a strategy to allow extra folks to create on our platform. We’re already seeing creators being extra productive and needing much less technical talent to get their concepts off the bottom.
- With Roblox Assistant, our new conversational AI (This fall 23), creators can use pure language textual content prompts to rapidly prototype concepts. For instance, somebody might kind “I need to create a recreation set in historical ruins the place the participant spawns by a campfire,” and the system will robotically construct it. This can let creators spend extra time on high-value actions like narrative, recreation play, and expertise design.
- Whereas these instruments will make it simpler than ever for current creators to precise their creativity and earn, we need to make it potential for anybody to create on Roblox. Within the subsequent yr, we plan to deliver a number of the options of Roblox Studio (our 3D content material creation software program) to everybody on our platform. Meaning anybody might begin to create issues like homes, automobiles, and even avatars inside current experiences.
The Progress of Our Group
Creator Connections
Roblox wouldn’t be the place it’s with out our gifted, numerous, and world creator neighborhood. This yr, we rolled out our new Creator Roadmap to replicate how we’re constructing our platform hand-in-hand with creators. The Roadmap is a spot for us to present our creators an early take a look at the issues we’re engaged on, collaborate, and get their suggestions.
In 2023, we linked with improvement studios from around the globe each in particular person and nearly. And at Roblox Builders Convention (RDC) in September, 1000’s of individuals got here collectively for informative and inspirational classes, sales space demos, and networking occasions. RDC continues to be an awesome place for builders, manufacturers, and influencers to be taught from one another and for us to attach with our gifted and rising neighborhood.
At Join 2023, our convention by creators for creators, greater than 12,000 creators gathered for a sequence of networking alternatives and competitions. And with the launch of Creator Occasions, we noticed creators from everywhere in the world come collectively to share data and be taught from each other by internet hosting dozens of on-line workshops.
Group Creations
This was a yr of breakout hits on Roblox. Actually, 38 % of the highest 1,000 experiences on the platform have been created throughout the final 12 months.*** A sampling of a number of the thrilling new experiences on Roblox consists of:
- Social trend expertise Gown to Impress, which surpassed 40 million visits in simply two months.
- Obby However You’re On A Bike, a brand new (wheelie) spin on the well-loved obby (or impediment course) method.
- Drinks On Faucet, an expertise with extra mature content material for ID-verified customers 17 years and older, was visited almost 5 million instances since 17+ experiences launched****, and customers within the expertise have been in a position to make use of robust language, the most recent in our communication applied sciences.
On the identical time, our Recreation Fund debuted ten experiences that leverage our newest improvements and push the boundaries of what’s potential on Roblox. These releases included Skullbeat by Chop Chop Video games & Kong Orange, Primal Hunt by Phaser Lock Interactive, and—from the Howdy Neighbor universe—Secret Neighbor by Tinybuild.
I’m completely satisfied to say that this development extends past simply expertise creation. Through the first three quarters of 2023, neighborhood creators offered almost 1.6 billion digital trend gadgets and equipment. In consequence, customers have been continually altering their look, with 165 billion avatar updates over that very same timeframe.
Honoring the Group
In November of this yr, we awarded 16 winners on the Roblox Innovation Awards. Nice creators at LSPLASH gained each the Builderman Award of Excellence and Finest New Expertise for Doorways, and Gamer Robotic Inc. gained the Folks’s Alternative award for Blox Fruits.
We additionally noticed unbelievable work from influencers in our Video Stars program like Tanqr who gained Finest Video Star, Temprist for creating the Finest Video, and TeraBrite and RussoPlays for delivering yet one more neighborhood smash hit season of RB Battles. This yr we welcomed a various forged of greater than 50 new video creators into this system, and we are able to’t wait to see what they proceed to create.
I’m so proud that Roblox is dwelling to one of many world’s most passionate and modern creator communities, and so impressed by their monumental yr of creativity and innovation.
The Progress of Our Enterprise
We’ve lengthy talked concerning the a number of parts driving the expansion of Roblox—being a platform for everybody, being accessible all over the place, rising internationally, and constructing a vibrant economic system that serves our whole neighborhood. By combining all of these parts, the expansion of our platform will get very fascinating in a short time.
Roblox for Everybody
In Q3 2023, greater than 57 % of our customers have been 13 or older and the quickest rising age group on Roblox was 17-24 yr olds. And we imagine there’s far more development to return with this viewers.
This yr, we launched experiences for 17+ customers (Q2 23), which suggests creators can incorporate the sorts of mature themes and storylines discovered on TV exhibits or stand-up comedy into what they construct. That is thrilling as a result of manufacturers on Roblox now have entry to a useful, usually hard-to-reach demographic, and since many builders over 17, the group that creates the vast majority of our high 1,000 experiences, need to construct for older customers to allow them to categorical themselves extra freely.
Roblox In all places
For years, folks joined Roblox from a variety of gadgets together with cellular (iOS and Android), desktop, and gaming consoles.
Making Roblox accessible all over the place and on each platform is a giant focus for us so we might be the place our customers need to be a part of us. This yr, we expanded that vary by bringing Roblox to Meta Quest (absolutely accessible in Q3 23) and PlayStation (This fall 23). Hundreds of thousands extra folks can now entry our platform, which opens up much more alternatives for builders to create and immediately share their experiences. They’ll now simply publish and distribute current experiences to those common world platforms or create distinctive, new experiences for VR or console.
Roblox Across the World
Our customers come from all corners of the globe, and this yr, we launched 4 new languages to raised help folks on Roblox in 180 international locations. We additionally made vital progress in markets like Japan, the place we grew DAUs 66 % year-over-year** in Q3 2023. And we’re studying from these efforts. After we develop Roblox in a brand new market, we’re systematic about ensuring the customers there’ll instantly have an awesome expertise, so we zero in on search and discovery, pure language translation high quality, and the efficiency of our infrastructure. As we take into consideration becoming a member of new markets, we give attention to:
- Computerized AI-powered language translation.
- Guaranteeing efficiency and stability on lower-end gadgets.
- Content material and our developer neighborhood within the new market.
- World fee optimizations.
- Platform security and civility.
This playbook has been profitable in Japan and India, and it’s guiding our work in different international locations. For instance, Bookings in Germany grew 75 % year-over-year** in Q3 2023. We’re additionally excited concerning the massive alternatives we’re seeing in main markets like Brazil and India.
A Vibrant Financial system
The Roblox economic system is designed to mannequin and replicate real-world dynamics. We constructed it to supply seamless participation for anybody, serve our neighborhood, and make it potential for any creator to start out and develop a enterprise. From the start of October 2022 via the top of September 2023, creators earned $701 million in developer change charges on Roblox. Some methods we enhanced our economic system this yr embody:
- Limiteds (Q2 23): We started letting creators in our UGC Program resolve how scarce they need their gadgets to be by selecting what number of to supply. We’re additionally making it potential for them to revenue from each resale of their gadgets. Actually, a number one digital music model, Monstercat, lately teamed up with neighborhood creator @WhoseTrade on six single-edition necklaces. Every offered inside minutes, together with the Ruby Pendant, which offered for roughly $10,000. And Lamborghini teamed up with @Yourius to create a Golden Bullhead Restricted, which offered its three copies instantly for 1.5 million Robux every. And I’m proud to say that almost all resold gadgets are promoting for greater than what they value initially.
- Avatar Our bodies and Heads (Q3 23): As talked about above, UGC Program members can now create and promote full avatar our bodies and standalone heads in Market or inside experiences. We’re excited to supply this extra method for builders to create and earn, particularly as a result of we imagine it would drive extra self-expression throughout Roblox.
- Subscriptions (This fall 23): Builders can now create subscriptions inside their experiences and set up ongoing relationships with their customers, whereas probably making their earnings extra predictable. This additionally means folks will be capable to rely on a gentle movement of contemporary content material that’s related to them.
Monetization and Promoting
For years, Roblox has been a strong monetization engine, however with promoting and, sooner or later, real-world commerce, we’re unlocking substantial potential monetary development. In the present day, solely about 20 % of engagement hours on Roblox are generated by month-to-month distinctive payers. However the potential for promoting, as a consequence of our massive and rising Gen Z viewers, and ultimately, real-world commerce, highlights new alternatives for creators, together with manufacturers, to develop the methods they’ll earn.
This comes as we’ve made it simpler for manufacturers and builders alike to earn from their experiences by displaying advertisements in them. And we’re decreasing the barrier to entry for people who need to show advertisements with instruments like:
- Immersive Advertisements (Q1 23): Eligible builders can earn Robux by having advertisements positioned of their experiences. Advertisers can buy these native advertisements and attain their audiences at scale in an modern and fascinating method.
- Advertisements Supervisor (Q2 23): Helps advertisers create and handle their advertisements with a self-serve instrument.
- Testing new formats like video advertisements (This fall 23), which we imagine will enhance developer payouts and advertiser worth.
Extra Manufacturers and Industries
Now we have at all times aimed to make Roblox extra useful to extra folks and in 2023, we noticed high manufacturers and expertise participating and creating deep connections with our neighborhood. Manufacturers like Adidas, NBA, and e.l.f. Cosmetics all created unbelievable experiences on the platform, artists like Nicki Minaj and Olivia Rodrigo (This fall 23) launched immersive procuring experiences, and Karlie Kloss (Q1 23) and Paris Hilton (Q3 2024) launched their fashion-forward experiences with new avatars. Every of those used our highly effective creation instruments to construct neighborhood areas for connection and self-expression.
We additionally need to scale model innovation and allow a self-serve, world promoting ecosystem on the platform, so we launched the Roblox Companion Program (Q2 23). The Program is concentrated on participating a broad community of platform advocates—from Roblox developer studios to early adopters amongst businesses and third-party sellers—in world training and finest apply sharing for manufacturers.
This yr, we’ve additionally seen expanded and fascinating experiences in industries like trend, music, auto, and journey, work/recruiting, and training.
- Trend was big on Roblox in 2023, with the strains persevering with to blur between model within the bodily world and on our platform. For instance, college students on the Parsons College of Design created and offered couture items on Roblox (Q2 23) with bodily variations of them later displayed at RDC (Q3 23). Gucci additionally launched their fourth expertise on the platform, Gucci Ancora (Q3 23) which transported customers nearly to Milan to discover and work together on the intersection of trend and artwork.
- Music fandom, together with Okay-Pop, is rapidly rising, particularly with the arrival of iconic teams like Twice (Q1 23) and BlackPink (Q3 23) to the platform.
- And training continues to catch the attention of us. We took some massive steps ahead this yr with the Roblox Group Fund, together with launching this system’s first set of academic experiences (Q3 23). Amongst them is Robotic Champions (This fall 23) from FIRST Robotics and Filament Video games, which gives college students an open-ended house to design, construct, and management robots.
In Closing
Behind all of the work everybody at Roblox and in our neighborhood did this yr is the infrastructure that permits us to scale quickly and effectively, empowering our builders to create with ease and our customers to have probably the most dependable expertise potential.
We’re additionally persevering with to put money into the technical prowess that can underpin our ongoing development and success. Specifically, we’ll proceed to put money into AI. Now we have entry to distinctive information and insights that can enable us to leverage AI to profit our neighborhood and platform, together with:
- To speed up creation by anybody.
- To make our moderation techniques quicker, extra correct, and extra environment friendly.
- And to analysis new ways in which AI might make our lives simpler and higher.
That is each our short- and long-term future. Trying again at 2023, I’m so pleased with all of the work our whole crew did to make Roblox such a strong platform, and I couldn’t be extra optimistic about what’s coming subsequent.