Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program and play games created by themselves or other users. Created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and released in 2006, the platform hosts user-created games of multiple genres coded in the programming language Lua. For most of Roblox's history, it was relatively small, both as a platform and as a company. Roblox began to grow rapidly in the second half of the 2010s, and this growth has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roblox is free to play, with in-game purchases available through a virtual currency called Robux. As of August 2020, Roblox had over 164 million monthly active users, including more than half of all American children under 16. Although Roblox has received generally positive reviews from critics, it has faced criticism for its moderation, microtransactions, and allegations of exploitative practices toward children.
Overview
Roblox Studio
Two blue polygons with a gap in between them.
The Roblox Studio logo
Roblox allows players to create their own games using its proprietary engine, Roblox Studio, which can then be played by other users.Games, officially referred to as "experiences" on the platform, are made with a derivative of the language Lua named Luau. Users are able to create purchasable content through one-time purchases, known as "game passes", as well as microtransactions which can be purchased more than once, known as "developer products" or "products". The majority of games produced using Roblox Studio are developed by minors, and a total of 20 million games a year are produced using it
Items and currency
Logo of the virtual currency "Robux"
Roblox allows players to buy, sell, and create virtual items which can be used to decorate their virtual character that serves as their avatar on the platform. Previously, only Roblox administrators had the ability to sell accessories, body parts, gear, and packages under the official Roblox user account, with virtual hats and accessories also being able to be published by a select few users with past experience working with Roblox Corporation. This arrangement was in place until the introduction of the UGC Catalog, which allowed selected individuals within the Roblox community to create and sell customized User-Generated Content (UGC) avatar items through the UGC Program.Several individuals design items as a full-time job, with the highest-earning creators making over $100,000 a year off item sales.
Items with a limited edition status can only be traded between or sold by users with a Roblox Premium membership.These limited items have a Recent Average Price (RAP), and their value fluctuates based on its demand and rarity. Although selling these items for real-world currency violates Roblox's terms of service, this does not stop some individuals from doing so through black market sites and communities, in which limited items, some of which being stolen, are often exchanged for payment methods such as cryptocurrency or sometimes PayPal Previously, only Roblox released these limited items themselves until the introduction of "UGC Limiteds" in April 2023, which allowed for those in the UGC Program to design and sell user-generated items themselves with limited quantities. Unlike Roblox-released limited items, UGC Limiteds cannot be traded. They can, however, be resold after a 30-day holding period after being bought.
Robux allows players to buy various items, and are obtained by purchase with real currency, from a recurring stipend given to members with a Premium membership, and from other players by producing and selling virtual content in Roblox. Prior to 2016, Roblox had another currency, Tix (short for "Tickets"), that was discontinued in April of that year.better source needed] Robux acquired through the sale of user-generated content can be exchanged into real-world currency through the website's Developer Exchange system.