2019 was another big year for Roblox. The platform had some very big goals at the start of the year and they were not disappointed with the results. Not only did Roblox achieve record monthly numbers of over a billion hours of play but they also crossed over the 100 million monthly active users mark.
Several games managed to attract over a billion visits over the year and others managed to attain 100,000 concurrent players. Not bad going for a platform that started out with just 100 players in 2004.
Whilst most Robloxians (as Roblox players are known) will likely be aware of the big game hits on the platform, there is much more going on behind the scenes that you might not be aware of. In a recent blog post, CEO David Baszucki offers his thoughts on how things went in 2019 and also outlines a few plans for the future.
It’s clear that Roblox is still growing and to facilitate this rapid growth the company hired over 200 extra staff members around the world. In terms of international growth, Roblox partnered with Tencent to “inspire the next generation of creators in China to learn coding, digital citizenship, game design, and entrepreneurial skills on Roblox.”
2019 was a year for more immersive and expansive experiences as the developers behind the games on Roblox really pushed the bar high with some very impressive player numbers as a result.
“In 2019, we saw more and more experiences surpass that threshold on their own, including Adopt Me, Ninja Legends, MeepCity, Royale High, Saber Simulator, Pet Simulator 2, and Welcome to Bloxburg. I’d also like to congratulate Adopt Me, Royale High, Welcome to Bloxburg, Prison Life, Flee the Facility, and Super Hero Tycoon for crossing the one billion visits milestone in 2019.”
Roblox also continues to develop its relationship with other business partners and teamed up with some very big names throughout the year including Nike, NFL, FC Barcelona, and Liverpool FC to name just a few.
Roblox also takes its responsibilities seriously and have invested in educating parents, guardians, and teachers about the power of play.
” We created a new Parent’s Guide and Digital Well-Being section on our website; participated in a number of speaking opportunities at Collision, Web Summit, ISTE, Games for Change, Fast Company Innovation Festival, IBPA, and FOSI Annual Conference; launched a Roblox Civility page on Facebook to distribute content about online safety and digital well-being; and shared the results from our digital civility survey about the divide between parents and teens when talking about appropriate online behaviour.”
Outside of the digital world, Roblox also saw massive growth in the sales of licenced product sales. The company launched over 200 toys, four new books and collaborated with community creators to release branded clothing.
Baszucki signs off with the following:
“My optimism for the future is fueled by the dedication of our player community, the creativity of our developer community, and the passion of the great people who work at Roblox. From the bottom of my heart, I offer my sincere thanks for making 2019 one of the best and most fulfilling years we’ve had so far at Roblox. I have a feeling that 2020 is going to be even bigger and better than ever.”
If you want to read all of the detail, head over to the official blog page.
