Lessons on steadfast vision, platform building, vertically integrated ecosystems, community as the product, and a peak into what a virtual country looks like
This is an incredible article! The growth of Roblox has just been made more exciting by two factors:
1. The announcement of Roblox being released on VR -- they will dominate another platform
2. The new addition of 17+ content
UGC is great for the industry as a whole, it makes up a big part of Roblox and many users have learnt dev tools, coding, and 3D modelling because of Roblox UGC.
Appreciate the breakdown of Roblox across its evolving history!
Question for you: how would Roblox best position itself to not lose power against the emerging ecosystem’s new “platforms” (e.g. Apple’s Vision Pro)? Would love to understand if this is better served from strategic focuses inward or outward (ex: building better in-house vs partnering with Apple)...
No doubt, they will be available on the Apple Vision. Although, at the Apple price point ($3.5K), and with Roblox mainly serving younger players, I think getting into the first version of Apple's headset is less pressing in the short-term.
This is illustrative of how Roblox is already--and needs to continue--putting their ecosystem within new platforms. This involves (inwardly) improving their platform infrastructure to work well natively on these new platforms, and (outwardly) partnering with these platform providers to get (1) developer preferences/access, (2) better distribution on the new platforms.
If Roblox works to position itself as a premium gaming/experience across all platforms, available wherever users are spending time, and leads the charge at being one of the first games available (hopefully high up on the default pages of these platforms thanks to partnerships), I think they will be in a solid position to ride the emergence of these new AR/VR platforms.
No problem at all; I appreciate the thoughtful response!
Okay, that plan seems satisfactory (they’ve already made the web -> mobile leap quite well, where many other gaming ecosystems have not.) in time, we’ll see how their partnering is received by new platform hosts - how each’s preferences are accommodated, tech interoperability, and even pricing!
Interestingly, I look towards the current Activision/Microsoft debacle as one guide, here...
Good reference point! And same, will be very interesting to see how this new platform era is ushered in now. The moment Apple entered the game with their Vision headset, the market changed. Huge validation for the space. Meta will be able to continue justifying investment in their reality labs, and developers I think will be taking this platform a lot more seriously. [FYI, great related read on this: https://www.matthewball.vc/all/bigtechbiggestbets)
Given Roblox don't publisher their own games like Activision, and are focus just on the platform/infrastructure...it definitely gives them an advantage to hit those notes you mentioned (nativity to platforms, interoperability, pricing, etc)
An absolutely incredible piece!
It's so good to read gaming content on growth. Excited to see more of that.
Nintendo has such a wonderful history from publisher, to retail and now delight (parks!)
So so glad you enjoyed in, Nicolas! Thanks for reading and dropping in here with a comment :)
This is an incredible article! The growth of Roblox has just been made more exciting by two factors:
1. The announcement of Roblox being released on VR -- they will dominate another platform
2. The new addition of 17+ content
UGC is great for the industry as a whole, it makes up a big part of Roblox and many users have learnt dev tools, coding, and 3D modelling because of Roblox UGC.
So glad you enjoyed it, Laurie!
Appreciate the breakdown of Roblox across its evolving history!
Question for you: how would Roblox best position itself to not lose power against the emerging ecosystem’s new “platforms” (e.g. Apple’s Vision Pro)? Would love to understand if this is better served from strategic focuses inward or outward (ex: building better in-house vs partnering with Apple)...
My pleasure, and thanks for dropping in with a comment! I think it's a little blend of both.
To point to an example, Roblox is already available on Meta's Oculus, and as per TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/10/roblox-may-arrive-on-meta-quest-later-this-year/) planning to arrive on the Meta Quest later this year.
No doubt, they will be available on the Apple Vision. Although, at the Apple price point ($3.5K), and with Roblox mainly serving younger players, I think getting into the first version of Apple's headset is less pressing in the short-term.
This is illustrative of how Roblox is already--and needs to continue--putting their ecosystem within new platforms. This involves (inwardly) improving their platform infrastructure to work well natively on these new platforms, and (outwardly) partnering with these platform providers to get (1) developer preferences/access, (2) better distribution on the new platforms.
If Roblox works to position itself as a premium gaming/experience across all platforms, available wherever users are spending time, and leads the charge at being one of the first games available (hopefully high up on the default pages of these platforms thanks to partnerships), I think they will be in a solid position to ride the emergence of these new AR/VR platforms.
No problem at all; I appreciate the thoughtful response!
Okay, that plan seems satisfactory (they’ve already made the web -> mobile leap quite well, where many other gaming ecosystems have not.) in time, we’ll see how their partnering is received by new platform hosts - how each’s preferences are accommodated, tech interoperability, and even pricing!
Interestingly, I look towards the current Activision/Microsoft debacle as one guide, here...
Good reference point! And same, will be very interesting to see how this new platform era is ushered in now. The moment Apple entered the game with their Vision headset, the market changed. Huge validation for the space. Meta will be able to continue justifying investment in their reality labs, and developers I think will be taking this platform a lot more seriously. [FYI, great related read on this: https://www.matthewball.vc/all/bigtechbiggestbets)
Given Roblox don't publisher their own games like Activision, and are focus just on the platform/infrastructure...it definitely gives them an advantage to hit those notes you mentioned (nativity to platforms, interoperability, pricing, etc)