Roblox, a popular online multiplayer game that features Lego-like characters, announced that is on track to pay creators $70m in 2018.
As the world’s largest user-generated gaming platform, Roblox lets users create games within the game — and pays them when they’re played.
It would look a lot like Roblox. So far, the crowdsourced model has proved successful both for the game and its players.
The game uses a virtual currency called ‘Robux’ that rewards the platform’s owners and developers. The community has produced 40m games, pushing the platform’s value to $2.4B.
Of the game’s 64m players, 4m have developed their own games. Last year, the platform paid its creators $30m — with some teenagers earning as much as $3m.
The success of Roblox, which is cash-flow positive and growing, has encouraged others to mimic its content-crowdsourcing model. Minecraft has made a marketplace for creators to sell in-game accoutrements.
Since many of Roblox’s creators are former or current players, the company encourages players to learn development skills, including an annual developer conference and partnerships with 500+ coding camps to teach kids to code cool (Roblox) games.