Roblox

Roblox is an <a href="/facts/Online_game/UH6ItLnW">online game</a> <a href="/facts/Computing_platform/DmKwp5Bk">platform</a> and <a href="/facts/Game_creation_system/MYK6fE8n">game creation system</a> developed by <a href="/facts/Roblox_Corporation/0H71r6m8">Roblox Corporation</a> that allows users to <a href="/facts/Computer_programming/QmSsFnu0">program</a> and play games created by themselves or other users. It was created by <a href="/facts/David_Baszucki/3URhjwHm">David Baszucki</a> and Erik Cassel in 2004, and released to the public in 2006. As of February 2025, the platform has reported an average of 85.3 million daily active users. According to the company, their monthly player base includes half of all American children under the age of 16.
The platform hosts <a href="/facts/List_of_Roblox_games/81RTkwyg">millions of user-created games</a> (officially referred to as "experiences"), all created using a dialect of the <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming language</a> <a href="/facts/Lua_(programming_language)/xkBCgta0">Lua</a> and the platform's game engine, Roblox Studio. While Roblox is <a href="/facts/Free-to-play/V3eIF3zL">free-to-play</a>, it features in-game purchases done through its virtual currency known as Robux, and game developers on the platform are able to create items that cost Robux. Furthermore, the platform hosts a large <a href="/facts/Virtual_economy/mMXumKJA">virtual economy</a> centered around those items and Robux. Using the platform's "Developer Exchange" program, creators on the platform are able to exchange their earned Robux for real-world currency. The platform has also been used to host <a href="/facts/Virtual_concert/hIx7ALpd">virtual concerts</a> and events, as well as <a href="/facts/Advergames/qHtn8zuH">advergames</a>.
Early in Roblox's history, it was relatively small, both as a platform and as a company. In the second half of the 2010s, the platform began to grow rapidly, and this growth was <a href="/facts/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_the_video_game_industry/AGE3nRKs">accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. By 2020, over 5,000 games on Roblox had been played over a million times, and over 20 had been played over one billion times. Although Roblox has been positively received by critics, it has faced heavy criticism for its <a href="/facts/Content_moderation/AwdjqfIW">content moderation</a>, which in turn has led to a large amount of <a href="/facts/Pornography/1chvn1Xt">sexual</a> or <a href="/facts/Extremism/2AgIalFJ">politically extremist</a> material on the platform. It has also been criticized for its alleged exploitative practices toward children and <a href="/facts/Microtransaction/t8As71oC">microtransactions</a>. The platform has been restricted or completely blocked in several countries, including <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a>, <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a> and <a href="/facts/Jordan/JC5sS1oJ">Jordan</a>.

Roblox open-in-new

Roblox