This was an enormous yr for Roblox. We made nice progress towards our imaginative and prescient of reimagining the best way individuals come collectively by constructing progressive applied sciences that allow richer types of communication, creation, and immersion. Throughout Q3* of this yr, we noticed 70.2 million every day lively customers on Roblox, which was up 20 p.c from the identical interval final yr, and customers spent 16 billion hours coming collectively to attach, discover, study, 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 retaining security on the forefront of all the things we do.
All through 2023, we shipped a broad vary of improvements that helped us make important progress in the direction of our core objectives:
- Enabling 3D immersive communication.
- Making Roblox welcoming for everybody, in every single place.
- Rising our vibrant financial system so creators of all sizes can launch and scale a enterprise.
- Empowering individuals to attach, create, and thrive in secure and civil experiences.
Check out some key highlights above, and skim on for extra element on the good work we did collectively:
The Development of Our Platform
Immersive Communication
During the last yr, we’ve added a spread of latest instruments that make connection and communication on Roblox much more like actual life. We’ve made it easy for individuals to convey their family and friends onto Roblox by importing their contact listing from their telephone or sharing a QR code with a good friend. 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 individuals to precise themselves similar to they’d in the actual world. This yr, we additionally started permitting individuals to customise pals’ 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 know-how that builders can incorporate into their experiences to permit individuals to name each other as their avatars for impromptu conversations and gatherings (This fall 23). This know-how makes use of face monitoring, so individuals can truly 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 know-how, known as Roblox Join, and I’ve been utilizing it to speak with my household on Roblox, which has simply been wonderful.
For this know-how, 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 consider that when somebody can specific their genuine self with their avatar, they’ll have a greater time on Roblox. So this yr, we gave our neighborhood new methods to try 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 will 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 provide extra and higher methods for individuals to speak and specific themselves on Roblox. That is just the start of those efforts.
- We additionally need to present everybody on Roblox with the absolute best know-how for creating avatars, and our new Avatar Setup software makes that simpler than ever. And we’re taking avatar personalization to the subsequent degree with the Studio beta of our mesh and picture APIs that may finally enable anybody to create a unique avatar in Roblox experiences.
Subsequent yr, we’ll double down on growing generative AI instruments that permit individuals create avatars based mostly on photographs and textual content prompts. We’re being considerate about moderating the avatars created with AI and the interactions individuals have with them, and making certain it’s performed with security and civility in thoughts.
On the similar 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 know-how that enables individuals 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 know-how to ensure that even hair and cloth on avatar outfits reacts to motion, collisions, and wind. They’re additionally engaged on methods for avatars to finally mimic the various advanced methods people transfer their our bodies.
The Way forward for Creation
Every little 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 solution to allow extra individuals 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 shortly prototype concepts. For instance, somebody may kind “I need to create a sport set in historic ruins the place the participant spawns by a campfire,” and the system will routinely construct it. This can let creators spend extra time on high-value actions like narrative, sport play, and expertise design.
- Whereas these instruments will make it simpler than ever for present 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 convey a number of the options of Roblox Studio (our 3D content material creation software program) to everybody on our platform. Which means anybody may begin to create issues like homes, vehicles, and even avatars inside present experiences.
The Development of Our Neighborhood
Creator Connections
Roblox wouldn’t be the place it’s with out our proficient, various, and world creator neighborhood. This yr, we rolled out our new Creator Roadmap to mirror how we’re constructing our platform hand-in-hand with creators. The Roadmap is a spot for us to present our creators an early have a look at the issues we’re engaged on, collaborate, and get their suggestions.
In 2023, we linked with growth studios from world wide each in particular person and just about. And at Roblox Builders Convention (RDC) in September, hundreds of individuals got here collectively for informative and inspirational classes, sales space demos, and networking occasions. RDC continues to be an excellent place for builders, manufacturers, and influencers to study from one another and for us to attach with our proficient 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 study from each other by internet hosting dozens of on-line workshops.
Neighborhood Creations
This was a yr of breakout hits on Roblox. Actually, 38 p.c of the highest 1,000 experiences on the platform had been created inside the final 12 months.*** A sampling of a number of the thrilling new experiences on Roblox consists of:
- Social style 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) formulation.
- Pet Simulator 99, a reset on the Roblox basic that’s aimed toward new audiences.
- Drinks On Faucet, an expertise with extra mature content material for ID-verified customers 17 years and older, was visited almost 5 million occasions since 17+ experiences launched****, and customers within the expertise had been in a position to make use of robust language, the most recent in our communication applied sciences.
On the similar 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 Hi there Neighbor universe—Secret Neighbor by Tinybuild.
I’m comfortable to say that this progress extends past simply expertise creation. In the course of the first three quarters of 2023, neighborhood creators bought almost 1.6 billion digital style objects and equipment. Consequently, customers had been always altering their look, with 165 billion avatar updates over that very same timeframe.
Honoring the Neighborhood
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 Greatest New Expertise for Doorways, and Gamer Robotic Inc. gained the Individuals’s Alternative award for Blox Fruits.
We additionally noticed unbelievable work from influencers in our Video Stars program like Tanqr who gained Greatest Video Star, Temprist for creating the Greatest Video, and TeraBrite and RussoPlays for delivering one more neighborhood smash hit season of RB Battles. This yr we welcomed a various solid of greater than 50 new video creators into this system, and we will’t wait to see what they proceed to create.
I’m so proud that Roblox is residence to one of many world’s most passionate and progressive creator communities, and so impressed by their monumental yr of creativity and innovation.
The Development of Our Enterprise
We’ve lengthy talked in regards to the a number of parts driving the expansion of Roblox—being a platform for everybody, being accessible in every single place, rising internationally, and constructing a vibrant financial system that serves our whole neighborhood. By combining all of these parts, the expansion of our platform will get very attention-grabbing in a short time.
Roblox for Everybody
In Q3 2023, greater than 57 p.c of our customers had been 13 or older and the quickest rising age group on Roblox was 17-24 yr olds. And we consider there’s way more progress 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 priceless, typically hard-to-reach demographic, and since many builders over 17, the group that creates nearly all of our high 1,000 experiences, need to construct for older customers to allow them to specific themselves extra freely.
Roblox In every single place
For years, individuals joined Roblox from a variety of units together with cell (iOS and Android), desktop, and gaming consoles.
Making Roblox accessible in every single place and on each platform is an enormous focus for us so we may be the place our customers need to be 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). Thousands and thousands extra individuals can now entry our platform, which opens up much more alternatives for builders to create and immediately share their experiences. They will now simply publish and distribute present experiences to those widespread 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 higher assist individuals on Roblox in 180 nations. We additionally made important progress in markets like Japan, the place we grew DAUs 66 p.c 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 excellent 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 concentrate on:
- Computerized AI-powered language translation.
- Making certain efficiency and stability on lower-end units.
- Content material and our developer neighborhood within the new market.
- International cost optimizations.
- Platform security and civility.
This playbook has been profitable in Japan and India, and it’s guiding our work in different nations. For instance, Bookings in Germany grew 75 p.c year-over-year** in Q3 2023. We’re additionally excited in regards to the massive alternatives we’re seeing in main markets like Brazil and India.
A Vibrant Financial system
The Roblox financial system is designed to mannequin and mirror 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 by the tip of September 2023, creators earned $701 million in developer trade charges on Roblox. Some methods we enhanced our financial system this yr embrace:
- Limiteds (Q2 23): We started letting creators in our UGC Program determine how scarce they need their objects to be by selecting what number of to provide. We’re additionally making it potential for them to revenue from each resale of their objects. Actually, a number one digital music model, Monstercat, not too long ago teamed up with neighborhood creator @WhoseTrade on six single-edition necklaces. Every bought inside minutes, together with the Ruby Pendant, which bought for about $10,000. And Lamborghini teamed up with @Yourius to create a Golden Bullhead Restricted, which bought its three copies instantly for 1.5 million Robux every. And I’m proud to say that the majority resold objects 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 means for builders to create and earn, particularly as a result of we consider it can 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 individuals will be capable of depend on a gradual circulation of recent content material that’s related to them.
Monetization and Promoting
For years, Roblox has been a robust monetization engine, however with promoting and, sooner or later, real-world commerce, we’re unlocking substantial potential monetary progress. In the present day, solely about 20 p.c of engagement hours on Roblox are generated by month-to-month distinctive payers. However the potential for promoting, attributable to our giant and rising Gen Z viewers, and finally, real-world commerce, highlights new alternatives for creators, together with manufacturers, to develop the methods they will earn.
This comes as we’ve made it simpler for manufacturers and builders alike to earn from their experiences by displaying adverts in them. And we’re decreasing the barrier to entry for those who need to show adverts with instruments like:
- Immersive Advertisements (Q1 23): Eligible builders can earn Robux by having adverts positioned of their experiences. Advertisers can buy these native adverts and attain their audiences at scale in an progressive and interesting means.
- Advertisements Supervisor (Q2 23): Helps advertisers create and handle their adverts with a self-serve software.
- Testing new formats like video adverts (This fall 23), which we consider will enhance developer payouts and advertiser worth.
Extra Manufacturers and Industries
We now have at all times aimed to make Roblox extra priceless to extra individuals and in 2023, we noticed high manufacturers and expertise partaking 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 buying 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 Associate Program (Q2 23). The Program is concentrated on partaking a broad community of platform advocates—from Roblox developer studios to early adopters amongst companies and third-party sellers—in world schooling and finest follow sharing for manufacturers.
This yr, we’ve additionally seen expanded and interesting experiences in industries like style, music, auto, and journey, work/recruiting, and schooling.
- Vogue was enormous 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 bought 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 just about to Milan to discover and work together on the intersection of style and artwork.
- Music fandom, together with Ok-Pop, is shortly rising, particularly with the arrival of iconic teams like Twice (Q1 23) and BlackPink (Q3 23) to the platform.
- And schooling continues to catch the attention of us. We took some massive steps ahead this yr with the Roblox Neighborhood Fund, together with launching this system’s first set of instructional experiences (Q3 23). Amongst them is Robotic Champions (This fall 23) from FIRST Robotics and Filament Video games, which provides 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 enables 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 may underpin our ongoing progress and success. Specifically, we are going to proceed to put money into AI. We now have entry to distinctive knowledge and insights that may enable us to leverage AI to learn our neighborhood and platform, together with:
- To speed up creation by anybody.
- To make our moderation methods quicker, extra correct, and extra environment friendly.
- And to analysis new ways in which AI may 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 robust platform, and I couldn’t be extra optimistic about what’s coming subsequent.