Behind the Craft by Peter Yang

Behind the Craft by Peter Yang

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Behind the Craft by Peter Yang
Behind the Craft by Peter Yang
Roblox: Gaming, the Creator Economy, and the Metaverse
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Roblox: Gaming, the Creator Economy, and the Metaverse

Why Roblox sits at the intersection of gaming and the creator economy

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Peter Yang
Aug 05, 2021
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Behind the Craft by Peter Yang
Behind the Craft by Peter Yang
Roblox: Gaming, the Creator Economy, and the Metaverse
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Dear subscribers,

Roblox is a company that sits at the intersection of gaming and the creator economy. Naturally, I have to do a deep dive.

Great games are expensive to make. For example, The Last of Us Part II took 2,000+ developers six years and $100M to ship (source). But what if the players themselves could craft the game?

This idea isn't new. Some of the best games come from players "modding" existing titles (e.g., CounterStrike was a mod of Half-Life). Yet Roblox has taken this to the next level because:

Almost all of Roblox's games come from its 8M creators. 

Let's explore:

  • How Roblox works

  • What Roblox offers creators

  • How Roblox is building the metaverse


How Roblox works

Most people see Roblox as a game, but I see it as a 17-year old creator economy company:

  • Creators use Roblox Studio to craft avatar items and games.

  • Players use Roblox Client to customize their avatar and play a creator’s games.

Like other creator economy companies, Roblox grows through two loops:

  • Creator growth loop: Creators make money, attracting more creators.

  • Player invite loop: Players invite friends, attracting more players.

Roblox grew rapidly during the pandemic. Source: The Economist

These loops have helped Roblox scale to 8M creators and 43M daily active players (source). Over half of these players are under 12 years old, and 72% play on mobile (source). Basically:

Kids are hanging out with their friends in Roblox instead of on social media. 

I spent some time playing Adopt Me, the #1 game on Roblox. Blocky graphics aside, the game is a surprisingly sophisticated simulation of raising a virtual pet:

In Adopt Me, I decorated my house, bought food for my puppy, and interacted with other players.

Adopt Me has 64M monthly active players (source). That's only 16M less than Fortnite's 80M MAU (source). 


What Roblox offers creators

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