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Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

matthewball.co

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Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#81

Post by vishnugupta »

andyferris wrote: post #22

> Unlike other social platforms, Roblox’s revenue is nearly all via user spending rather than advertising. As such, Roblox pays 25% of its revenue to Apple and Google (30% of transactions on those platforms) whereas Facebook, Snap, et al pay effectively 0. Note that Facebook, which has structurally lower costs to service users than Roblox and is far more mature, has an operating margin of roughly 40% — if the company…

I’m surprised that Roblox haven’t done what Amazon did with Kindle books. They just stopped book purchases through Kindle iOS app.

At this point it’s safe to assume Roblox is as popular as Apple so they don’t have the problem of discovery. Distribution yes for which they can pay the listing price.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#82

Post by saint- »

modeless wrote: post #17

The bigger question about Roblox is how and why they got their special treatment from Apple. The whole concept of Roblox is in blatant violation of Apple's App Store policies. I believe they are significantly shielded from competition because who else can get that kind of ongoing and reliable relief from Apple's famously picky and capricious App Store reviewers? Maybe Roblox is happy to pay Apple their 30% in exchang…

Curious, why is Roblox in violation of Apple's App store policies?

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#83

Post by eruleman »

philistine wrote: post #46
andyferris wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, I am imagining the Facebook response to this! :) In any case I suspect that is too much overreach and would only attract more attention from regulators. Two wrongs don't make a right, and this is fixing the wrong problem. (The problem being that once I purchase a portable pocket computer, I want it to be mine to use how I want with whatever software I want without asking the manufacturer for permission).

Apple is already collecting a 30% cut when you're buying ads on an iPhone: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/704141224249342/

Unreal. Apple’s gonna take a 30% off everything they possibly can.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#84

Post by devsda »

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #26

I can't recall the exact company name (Edit: it was TCI), but this was a smart accounting move that made one of the big US telcos frogleap the competition in the race for connectivity. Basically, the company invested sufficient into long term assets, big infra investments like cabling, towers, etc. Because of accounting rules, they could choose to amortize all of that investment in a straight line over 30 years, OR a…

I think Amazon also had a similar strategy.

They had lot of profit-less years of growth and they have captured a big part of the market share.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#85

Post by endtime »

raister wrote: post #66

Roblox is a huge problem for me, as a parent of a 8y kid. Let me explain: I try to block violent apps in his tablet using Google's Family app, however, Roblox internally keeps 'offering' my kid almost any game, whatever if there's violence, drugs, killing others, and so forth. It's a headache and a source of fights, so, I thank the responsible (/sarcasm).

My kids use Roblox. There _are_ parental controls you can enable through Roblox. When my twins turned nine, I had to enable 9+ games for them. I believe the age cutoffs are 9+, 13+, and 17+. I think anything with drugs should be 17+, and realistic violence/blood might be 13+? Not totally sure.

(Disclaimer: I'm a Roblox employee, but speaking only on my own behalf, and don't work on anything related to age guidelines.)

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#86

Post by ninepoints »

itake wrote: post #78
bemmu wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a full-time developer of Roblox games. It's wild that Apple or Google make as much from my games as I do. Obviously it still works out well enough since I'm not abandoning the platform, but strange anyway.

why is it wild? Microsoft keeps 30% of xbox store sales. Apple, Google, MS, etc. play a massive part in attracting users to the platform.

Console user spend and user acquisition costs are not even remotely similar to the corresponding values in the mobile ecosystem.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#87

Post by impulser_ »

modeless wrote: post #57
chii wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> undisclosed arrangement between Apple and Roblox then there's a clear case for securities fraud IMO not all undisclosed arrangements constitute securities fraud - only those whose intent is to defraud investors do. As for anti-competitive measures, the investigation ought to be from the consumer protection agencies, like the FCC, or from the justice department regarding anti-trust.

You are right that not all undisclosed arrangements are securities fraud. However, an undisclosed arrangement that represents an existential risk to the company were it to ever change would be securities fraud. You can't go public with huge undisclosed risks like that.

They disclose risks under Risk Factors in their quarterly filings.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#88

Post by ElCapitanMarkla »

My kids have started playing Roblox recently and they have started asking for some Robux so they can buy crap... I really don't get how so many people are into spending dollars on this stuff. Everything they wanted was ~$10-20 NZD and it was just throw away stuff, like a costume, etc. And then it's only useful in that one game you have brought it for. It blows my mind that it ever got this popular.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#89

Post by bredren »

pxue wrote: post #43
eru wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the app stores could fix that by also demanding a cut from ad revenue.

Well they did and Facebook refused. Hence the "do not track" feature.

Apple did have conversations about how to profit from Facebook’s apps.

But there’s no evidence that the App Tracking Transparency was a direct result of failure to come to terms with Facebook on some type of revenue share.

Even if a portion of the comprehensive set of protections included in ATT was specifically to target Facebook, Apple did not use it to punish Facebook.

Apple’s customers did.

Because when given a choice, 85-96% of all people across the entire planet did not want Facebook tracking them.

If one was to speculate on The decision-making behind platforms’ leadership, it follows to consider Google’s reluctance to follow in the footsteps of Apple with ATT due to google’s own direct reliance on ad revenue.

Apple is no saint, it’s made many compromises on user privacy in the face of business.

But there’s no doubt in my mind that the position of selling products and services, including the distribution of others’ software is by far more consumer friendly than the quiet identification, data collection and targeting of individuals.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#90

Post by blackeyeblitzar »

itake wrote: post #78
bemmu wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a full-time developer of Roblox games. It's wild that Apple or Google make as much from my games as I do. Obviously it still works out well enough since I'm not abandoning the platform, but strange anyway.

why is it wild? Microsoft keeps 30% of xbox store sales. Apple, Google, MS, etc. play a massive part in attracting users to the platform.

Wild meaning unfair, perhaps?
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