Gametech: Why Roblox is so important in the world of video games
Roblox: a powerful tool and platform for games and their development
It might sound like ‘roadblocks’, but there’s nothing getting in the way of Roblox. The children’s game development and publishing platform went public as a company last week – and was subsequently valued at $45bn. That’s more than twice the valuation of Epic, the creator of Fortnite.
If you have a child under the age of 15, there’s a high chance they have engaged with Roblox at some point in their lives. But do you know what it is?
Roblox is a free game development and publishing platform that is particularly successful on mobile devices. It allows young people to easily make and publish their own Roblox games, which can even have online elements. Unlike Fortnite or Minecraft, Roblox isn’t a game itself – it’s a tool to make and host the games.
Literally anything. Some of the more popular games include pizza cooking, prison escapes, hide and seek, adopting a pet and surviving harsh island weather. There are millions and millions of games on the platform. The most popular pet game, Adopt Me!, had almost two million concurrent players at the time of its release and creations can earns millions for their developers.
Although the games are free, you can purchase cosmetic items and other in-game items using Robux, the in-game currency. Once a developer has enough Robux in their account, they can convert this into real-world cash on the backend.
As with all online platforms, there are precautions to consider. If the chat function is enabled, then kids will be talking to other people on the platform. In addition, although Roblox monitors the content uploaded, some unsuitable content may slip through. All in all, however, this is a trustworthy platform for children and is officially rated suitable for ages 7+.
Going public doesn’t change anything in the immediate future for Roblox, but investors will want the game to grow its market share and profits. That could mean an expansion in a market more suitable for adults, especially as the age group that grew up with Roblox begins to grow older too. It could also mean an expansion of ways to spend Robux.
Sticking with business developments in the gaming world, one of the largest and most exciting acquisitions ever made was finally confirmed last week – with immediate impact on gamers. Microsoft confirmed that their acquisition of Bethesda Softworks, the publishers of Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM and more, has been officially completed.
With the purchase coming in at over $7bn, Microsoft wasted no time getting some of that value straight back into gamers’ hands, by releasing a slew of Bethesda Games on the Xbox Games Pass. These include a variety of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein and Dishonoured content, among others. Considering that some of those games have sold millions and millions of copies, and represent some of the most popular franchises in recent times, that isn’t a bad way for the deal to work out – if you’re a Game Pass subscriber, that is.
PlayStation owners have a right to be worried, as Microsoft now have the option to make all of those franchises exclusive to their platforms, too. Only time will tell if Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout, and other will release again on Sony platforms.
Finally, from big dealings to shady dealings. EA Sports, publishers of FIFA, are looking into how some of their employees have extended the football transfer market – from player pockets into their own. It has been revealed that FIFA Ultimate Team cards have been sold directly to players for thousands of euro at a time, on a black market for rare cards.
Ordinarily, to get the rarest FUT cards, players have to engage with FIFA’s much-loathed loot box system, which has been confirmed to represent gambling and banned in certain countries. The chances of getting the rarest cards are extremely low. Thus, an internal employee at EA allegedly started selling the rare cards directly into player accounts, charging thousands at a time. Proof of the transactions have been posted online and EA have confirmed they are investigating. On the bright side, FIFA is getting even more like real football, with shady deals in the back-end, and ‘agents’ at the center.
