Page 69 - Forbes - Asia (September 2018)
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with the players and get feedback as they TOP-EARNING ROBLOX GAMES ship program that works as an incu-
reined the platform. THESE FIVE TITLES HAVE EARNED A COMBINED bator or accelerator for young devs to
Once the pair published Roblox $16 MILLION FOR THEIR YOUNG CREATORS IN THE create games and improve them. his
FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2018.
Studio—the app that enables Roblox program at the company’s Silicon Val-
users to create games and simulations— ley headquarters teaches them project-
the oodgates began to open. By the year management skills and holds them ac-
2012, Roblox had more than 7 million countable for the deadlines they set for
unique visitors per month, making it one their projects.
of the most popular entertainment sites Since Roblox doesn’t need to worry
for kids. he site continued to grow, but about making games—or even how to
tragedy struck its founding team when make money from them—it can focus
Cassel was diagnosed with cancer. almost exclusively on infrastructure.
“He loved what he was doing at Ro- TITLE CREATOR LAUNCHED TIMES PLAYED he company is in the process of mov-
MEEPCITY ALEX BINELLO FEB 2016 2 BIL
blox,” Baszucki says. “And I saw Erik Play mini-games like go-kart racing or just hang out with friends ing its platform from third-party cloud
in this role-playing game based in a sprawling city.
not change. He kept doing what he was ser vices to its own cloud. It’s hired Dan
doing. What for me was so amazing to Williams, who helped Dropbox move
see was that he was already in a good of Amazon’s Web service.
state of balance, and it kind of made me he next phase? Going internation-
look at my own life. It was an inspiration al. Although Roblox’s users come from
for the people we hire—inding the type more than three dozen countries, the
of cultural it where people have a pas- platform was English-only and dol-
sion and share our dream and make this lars-only until just a few months ago,
an amazing environment.” when Roblox launched a Spanish ver-
As the company grew, it also experi- JAILBREAK BADIMO JAN 2017 1 BIL sion. Since then, the company has av-
Cops and robbers on a grand scale, where kids play either police
mented with diferent business models. oicers or criminals. eraged 5 million visitors a month from
Initially, revenue came from advertising Spanish-speaking countries.
and a premium membership model he company has also produced
called Builders Club. But ater a few years Brazilian Portuguese, French and Ger-
the company had moved to its current man versions. It just hosted its second
model: selling Robux. European developer’s conference and
Roblox’s monetization scheme allows is building up teams to expand into
young developers to obtain a cut of the more regions over the next few years.
money spent on their games. In 2017, de- “It’s super-exciting to think that a
velopers earned nearly $40 million on MURDER MYSTERY 2 NIKILIS JAN 2014 1 BIL kid in Jakarta can make a game that a
the platform. hat number is expected to Players have to unmask the killer in their midst—before they’re next. kid in Menlo Park would never even
surpass $70 million in 2018. Roblox has imagine but is really fun and relevant
also started to make toys—think action to other kids in Southeast Asia—and
igures and plastic cars—based on pop- maybe the kid in Menlo Park, too,”
ular games. It shares the money it makes says Chris Misner, the president of
from those toys with its developers, earn- Roblox International.
ing them an additional $1 million in roy- “Our hope is that we will actual-
alties in 2017. ly bring people together around the
“We just empower developers to igure world,” Baszucki adds.
it out,” said Craig Donato, Roblox’s chief WELCOME TO BLOXBURG COEPTUS NOV 2014 425 MIL Despite the enormous growth of
A Sims-like game where players work jobs, then use the money to
business oicer. “If a dev is too aggressive buy houses, vehicles and more. the platform, Baszucki still keeps in
with monetization, kids won’t play. If they touch with his power users—even if
have a great idea, it’ll get copied.” many don’t know his name. On a Fri-
he company also helps budding cod- day-morning company tour for play-
ers up their game. Its annual developer’s ers, a guide asked the kids if they’ve
conference draws Roblox developers ever heard of Dave Baszucki—they
from all over the world to meet one an- all shook their heads. hen she asked
other and exchange tips and tricks. More if they knew Builderman (Baszucki’s
than 400 people came to this year’s RDC, name within Roblox).
which was held in San Francisco in July. MINING SIMULATOR RUMBLE STUDIOS FEB 2018 288 MIL A loud “Yes!” erupted from the
he company also has a paid intern- Strike it rich mining gems and precious metals. group. F
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 67
