Do people actually want to spend real money in a digital world that looks like it’s built of Lego blocks?
Increasingly, the answer appears to be yes.
Earlier this week, Roblox stock jumped on a strong Q4 earnings report. Metrics include:
- Roblox’s bookings — a leading indicator for gaming companies’ future revenue — increased 17% YoY to $899.4m.
- Average daily users reached 58.8m, up 19% YoY.
- In 2022, users spent 49.3B hours on Roblox — 5.5m+ years of cumulative time.
The platform appears to be successfully aging up, too, which analysts consider critical for growing profits. Last quarter, ~55% of all Roblox users were over the age 13, up from ~40% in Q4 2019.
Roblox is now focused on expanding its economy of user-generated goods. Last quarter, the average monthly number of people buying virtual goods on Roblox reached an all-time high of 13.4m, at an average spend of $22.31 per user.
Food for thought: Last year, Roblox said that 58% of Gen Z now thinks a career as a digital fashion designer is just as or more impressive than a real-life one.