Roblox often enters the conversation as “the children’s game”, but the story is far from being just that. What started as a simple platform, with users creating their own digital worlds, became a billion-dollar company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with its own economy, millions of players spread across the world and an impact that goes far beyond entertainment.
In recent weeks, the platform has returned to the Brazilian news amid debates about control, usage restrictions, child safety and even bans in other countries. This reignited curiosity about its real size and the weight it carries outside the gaming universe.
The fact is that, along the way, Roblox went from being just a space to play to becoming a rare experiment: an environment where creation, money, community and technology mix. And that today attracts not only gamers, but also investors attentive to how next generation businesses are born.
How Roblox was born and who controls the company today
Roblox emerged in 2006 with an unusual proposal for the time: allowing users themselves to create their games and digital worlds.
The idea came from Erik Cassel, who opted for simple construction and simulation tools instead of ready-made experiments. Little by little, what was an experiment gained scale and began to attract an increasingly larger community.
With the growth of the user base, Roblox stopped being just a creation platform and started operating as a technology company. The clearest turning point came in 2021, when the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange and the project definitively entered the financial market’s radar.
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David Baszucki remains CEO and the company’s main public reference, while share control is distributed between institutional investors and the market. Erik Cassel, who participated in the creation and initial structuring of the platform, died in 2013, before the business reached its current scale.
Even after going public, the company maintains as its central axis the model conceived by its creators: a platform based on creation tools and content generated by the users themselves.
How much do you make and where does the money come from?
Roblox’s money doesn’t come from selling games, but from circulation within them. The company earns mainly from the sale of Robux, its virtual currency, used to purchase items, access experiences and customize avatars.
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Creators receive a portion of this movement and Roblox keeps the rest. It is a model reminiscent of other digital content platforms, but applied to a universe of interactive games.
Despite annual revenue already reaching billions of dollars, the company experiences recurring losses. Infrastructure, servers, security and moderation are expensive, and they grow along with the user base.
📊 Roblox in numbers:
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| Revenue in 2024 | US$3.6 billion |
| Revenue (last 12 months) | US$4.4 billion |
| Bookings projected for 2025 | US$5.9 billion |
| Payments to creators (1 year) | More than US$1 billion |
| Daily active users | About 150 million |
| Monthly active users | Up to 380 million |
Sources: Macrotrends, Companies Market Cap, company annual reports.
The size of Roblox in the gaming universe
At scale, Roblox already plays another game. It brings together millions of active users every day and occupies a unique position: it’s not a console, it’s not a traditional game and it’s not a pure social network.
It works more like a large “digital environment”, where games, meetings, events and experiences coexist. For many young users, it replaces several games at once rather than simply competing with them.
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This level of engagement explains why the platform frequently appears in global rankings of time spent and active users, even when it does not lead in revenue.
Why the market pays so much attention to Roblox
Currently, investors look at Roblox less for what it is today and more for what it can become. The platform speaks directly to a generation that is born creating, customizing and negotiating within digital environments.
There is a clear thesis in this: if this audience grows older without abandoning Roblox, the company can increase revenue, attract brands, sell experiences and diversify the business model. At the same time, the market knows that this bet carries risk, as platforms that depend on young audiences live under constant scrutiny and change their mood quickly.
Challenges and what to watch out for going forward
Roblox faces a delicate test as it needs to grow without losing control, monetize without alienating users, and strengthen security without stifling the experience.
In this context, regulatory pressure increases, especially in countries with stricter child protection laws, and costs accompany this movement. On the other hand, the company is also trying to attract older users, which requires technical and cultural changes.
For those who observe the business, some signs matter more than grandiose announcements: the evolution of the age base, the efficiency of monetization and the ability to reduce losses over time.
