- Roblox to allow developers to directly earn real currency instead of Robux
- The change will begin on PC later this year before a rollout to other eligible devices
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Roblox is opening up real currency payments on PC later this year to deliver developers a higher revenue share.
Working on a tiered system, experiences sold for set values will earn a range of revenue shares in real money, initially on Desktop only, but with plans to expand the offer to other devices down the line.
Roblox also plans to roll out a price optimisation tool in “the coming months”, which will run price tests and recommend the most attractive pricing strategy for an experience. This will include regional differences reflective of local economies and is designed to “help developers optimise in-experience pricing”.
Splashing the cash
Under the current model, Roblox developers can earn Robux when players spend in their experiences. Those devs can, in turn, use the Robux to purchase other experiences or cash out and convert it to real money through the Developer Exchange programme, provided they have 30,000 Robux or more.
Through Roblox’s “new economics“, developers will be able to earn real currency instead of Robux, and will earn a “higher revenue share” for making the jump.
During its 2024 Developer Conference, Roblox also highlighted that developers will earn a higher share of revenue the more they sell an experience for: from 50% of a $9.99 experience to 70% of a $49.99 experience.
Of course, this also means users will be able to buy games with real money instead of their Robux.
This signals the latest change in monetisation approach from the company and comes shortly after selling real-world cinema tickets in-platform for the first time.
Roblox has also been testing commerce on the platform this year, allowing players to buy real-world goods from a range of brands and await deliveries on their doorsteps.
This has included shopping from e.l.f. Cosmetics, Fandango and Walmart so far, with plans to allow physical merchandise sales from Roblox creators in the future.
Roblox founder and CEO David Baszucki said: “As we look to the year ahead, we couldn’t be more excited about the new products and features that are coming and the opportunities they’ll create for connection and play on Roblox. We’re also excited to see how they’ll turbocharge more diverse content from our creators. We can’t wait to build it with you.”
