Latest news with #RobloxCorp.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Roblox Q2 Earnings Beat Sends Leveraged RBLU Soaring
Roblox Corp.'s (RBLX) strong second-quarter earnings drove a 23.7% surge in the T-REX 2X Long RBLX Daily Target ETF (RBLU) Thursday, with the gaming platform also held as a major position in gaming and Web3 funds. Roblox reported $1.4 billion in net bookings, up 51% year over year, beating analyst expectations of $1.2 billion, according to CNBC reporting. Daily active users reached 111.8 million, up 41% year over year, while hours engaged jumped 58% to 27.4 billion. Invest in Gold American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA Roblox's presence across multiple fund strategies reflects the company's evolution beyond traditional gaming, with CEO David Baszucki targeting 10% of the global gaming content market through investments in infrastructure, discovery and virtual economy development, according to CNBC. RBLU aims for 200% of Roblox's daily price movements through swap agreements and has posted a 330.1% year-to-date return since launching March 4, according to FactSet. The leveraged fund has attracted $3.4 million in net flows with $6.3 million in assets under management and a 1.05% expense ratio. Gaming and Web3 Funds See Earnings Boost The Roundhill Video Games ETF (NERD) holds Roblox as its third-largest position at 9%, behind Nintendo Co. (NTDOY) at 12.4% and AppLovin Corp. (APP) at 11.3%, according to FactSet. The fund tracks a modified market-cap-weighted index of globally listed video game and eSports companies. NERD has posted a nearly 28% year-to-date return with $24.6 million in assets under management and a 0.5% expense ratio, according to FactSet. The ETF experienced net outflows of around $379,000 year to date despite positive three-month inflows of about $665,000. Roblox also ranks as the second-largest holding in the Bitwise Web3 ETF (BWEB) at just over 9%, trailing only Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) at 10.4%, according to FactSet. The fund provides exposure to Web3 technologies through companies positioned to benefit from decentralized finance, infrastructure, creator economy, metaverse and governance themes. BWEB has generated a 28.9% year-to-date return with $4.5 million in assets under management and a 0.85% expense ratio, according to FactSet data. The Web3-focused fund has attracted inflows of about $5,000 year to date. RBLX & Gaming ETF Comparison Fund T-REX 2X Long RBLX Daily Target ETF (RBLU) Roundhill Video Games ETF (NERD) Bitwise Web3 ETF (BWEB) Issuer Tuttle Capital Management Roundhill Investments Bitwise Asset Management AUM $6.3M $24.6M $4.5M Expense Ratio 1.05% 0.5% 0.85% 1 Month Performance 70.6% -5.3% 6.3% Year-to-Date Performance 330.1% 28% 28.9% Source: & FactSet Data Roblox raised its booking guidance for the third quarter to between $1.59 billion and $1.64 billion, compared to FactSet expectations of $1.42 billion, according to CNBC. The company reported a net loss of $279.4 million, or 41 cents per share, compared to a loss of $205.9 million, or 32 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. The platform recently rolled out age verification tools to address regulatory pressure on gaming companies to improve safety for younger users, according to CNBC. Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said the tools will help create more mature content opportunities to retain teens and adults on the | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Roblox game-buying frenzy is turning teens into millionaires
The creator of Blue Lock: Rivals thought kids on Roblox might like a soccer video game with an anime vibe. It sold a few months later for more than $3 million. The 19-year-old, who asked that his name be withheld because he has never shared it publicly, made the game in just three months with the help of co-developers. It attracted more than 1 million simultaneous players following its release last year, he said, generating $5 million a month in purchases for Roblox Corp., the popular gaming platform. Do Big Studios, an owner of other Roblox games that had helped develop Blue Lock: Rivals, bought the game in March, delivering a hefty payout to its teen owner. Like YouTube, Roblox started two decades ago as an online stage for young creators. Video-game lovers could use the service's tools to develop inexpensive, low-resolution entertainment. Now, as the company grows toward 100 million active daily users, contributors are finding there's money to be had in selling the games they've created, with buyers prepared to pay seven or even eight figures. 'We've seen a real shift in Roblox's ecosystem,' said David Taylor, senior consultant at the video-game-analytics firm Naavik. In June, seven of the 15 highest-earning games on Roblox had been acquired from their original owners, according to his research. The shift has been spawned in part by policy changes at Roblox. A December update to the service lets players easily transfer game ownership. Previously, Roblox said such sales were against its terms of service and community guidelines. A company spokesperson added that Roblox isn't currently participating in secondary-market transactions. Do Big has been scooping up other titles, including Roblox's biggest hit ever. In May, the company bought a stake in Grow a Garden, currently the most popular game on Roblox, for an undisclosed sum. The farming title broke records in late June, when it attracted over 21 million simultaneous players — more than Fortnite from Epic Games Inc. Another Roblox game company, Splitting Point, had taken it over the prior month from an anonymous teenage developer for an undisclosed sum. Representatives of Do Big didn't respond to a request for comment. In February, an anonymous developer sold Roblox's then-most popular game Brookhaven RP to Voldex Entertainment Ltd. Voldex's founder and chief executive officer, Alex Singer, said the deal, with financing arranged by Raine Group and Shamrock Capital, was 'bigger' than the reported sum that Embracer Group AB paid for Roblox's Welcome to Bloxburg in 2022, though he declined to be more specific. 'When there are more dollars paid out to creators, it attracts more people,' said Singer, 24. A report at the time put the Welcome to Bloxburg sale price at $100 million, though officials at Embracer said it was less. According to Roblox, the company's top 10 developers earned $36 million each in the 12 months through March. The San Mateo, California-based company may pay out more than $1 billion in total to creators for the first time this year. In 2023, CEO Dave Baszucki predicted that by 2028 a Roblox developer will be valued at $1 billion. Over a dozen companies buy, develop and sometimes flip Roblox games. Much of the activity is conducted over the chat app Discord, according to Connor Richards, a lawyer with Odin Law & Media who's been involved in a dozen deals. He's seen minors earn a few hundred thousand dollars from these deals. Another technology lawyer, Adam Starr, said he's facilitated about 20 Roblox deals over the last year and is receiving more inquiries than ever. The developers often opt to remain anonymous. Voldex's first major acquisitions, Driving Empire and Ultimate Football, cost the company seven figures, Singer said. A subsequent agreement with the NFL allowing the company to rename the property NFL Universe Football helped grow its audience. 'We've been able to sustain our communities and games and grow them while keeping players happy,' Singer said. 'That's really important.' He'll assign a team of programmers to analyze and improve a game, often alongside the original creator. Roblox games rise and fall with kids' whims. A paintball simulator might die off after another creator publishes a Roblox clone of Ubisoft Entertainment SA's Rainbow 6 Siege. Only the rare game remains popular for months or years. Creators who know this will sometimes sell their games at a price equal to just one or two months' revenue. Others go for 12 months' worth of sales, according to Naavik's Taylor. Independent game developers also trade their art or programming work for a share of game ownership. 'Roblox is very capitalist,' Voldex's Singer said. The company 'wants creators to be economically successful.' D'Anastasio writes for Bloomberg.
Bloomberg
01-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Roblox Daily Users Jump 26% Amid Efforts to Woo New Players
Roblox Corp., the popular video-game platform, reported a larger-than-expected jump in active users for the first quarter, benefiting from efforts to attract new players and keep them using the service longer. Daily active users rose 26% to 97.8 million in the three months ended March 31, the San Mateo, California-based company said in a statement Thursday. That compared with the 93.3 million average of analysts' estimates. The company finished 2024 with 85.3 million active users.
CBS News
06-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Roblox sues PlayerAuctions marketplace to block transactions outside of its gaming platform
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco against the PlayerAuctions gaming marketplace may provide the answer to an important question for online gamers. Gamers know that the assets they acquire as they play -- the game's "currency" and the virtual assets like clothing or tools that they earn or purchase along the way -- have real value, but how can they take advantage of it? Do they have to spend it on the platform where they got it, or can they sell it to someone else? Roblox Corp., the San Mateo gaming company, filed its suit in the hope of preventing its gamers from using the online marketplace run by PlayerAuctions of Los Angeles to buy and sell "in-game" assets outside of the Roblox platform. Roblox's suit focuses on a "virtual currency" called "Robux" and other virtual assets earned by players of Roblox games when they are playing the games. Those "in-game" virtual assets have significant value, but according to the Roblox's terms of service, gamers can only spend or trade them on the Roblox platform. PlayerAuctions maintains the leading marketplace where gamers may buy and sell virtual assets -- including virtual currencies like Robux, in-game "loot," and even a player's pending games or power levels -- just as if they were trading stocks on stock exchange. Roblox is no fan of its gamers selling their Roblox assets on the exchange, and presumably in the hope of blocking that, Roblox's suit claims that by using the names "Roblox" and "Robux" on the exchange's website, PlayerAuctions is infringing Roblox' trademarks and diluting their value. Roblox asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction to stop PlayerAuctions from using the trademarks while the suit is pending. The PlayerAuctions exchange covers more than 200 games including the Roblox games. The company claims to have more than 3.4 million traders (buyers and sellers) from 135 different countries that make on average a million monthly offers to buy or sell game assets. PlayerAuctions touts its ease of use, security, and tools it offers like a market tracker where traders can see the price of virtual assets. The tracker shows that Roblox is currently listed 17th on the website in terms of open offers (46) to buy or sell game currencies. The top listed game, World of Warcraft: The War Within, had 9,183 active offers for its in-game currency. The company says that its size and scope have created a liquid global market that helps sellers obtain value for otherwise illiquid assets. While Roblox's suit is only about its game and its trademarks, if its approach proves to be successful, other gaming platforms may consider whether they can do the same thing. A similar suit was filed against PlayerAuctions in 2010 in federal court in Los Angeles by the San Francisco gaming company Zynga. According to court records, the case was settled the next year, but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. (A review of the list of all of the games currently traded on the PlayerAuctions' exchange does not appear to include any games offered by Zynga.) An invitation to comment on the lawsuit was not immediately acknowledged by PlayerAuctions. The dispute arises at a time of increased attention on the practices of the online gaming industry. An April 4, 2024 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau valued the global gaming industry at $249.55 billion in 2022 notes that "billions of U.S. dollars are spent each year in gaming and virtual worlds, where consumers buy gaming assets using fiat currency and then use those assets to make purchases in-game." The report says that "an estimated 76 percent of children in the United States play video games." It added, "the most popular virtual platform among young people in the U.S. is Roblox, which ... averaged 71.5 million active daily users globally in December 2023 and roughly 58 percent of those users were under the age of 16." The primary focus expressed in the report and a later proposed interpretive rule is on the gaming companies. The bureau expressed concern that "young people may be especially vulnerable to tactics used by gaming companies to induce spending and monetize gaming, as their financial habits are still forming." (While PlayerAuctions and other online marketplaces for in-game assets are mentioned in the report, the bureau did not express an opinion on their operations.) The ongoing role of the CFPB in the world of online gaming is unclear. This month, the Trump administration replaced the former CFPB director and thereafter froze all of the bureau's activities for the time being. Roblox was sued in 2021 by consumers in federal court in San Francisco in a class action concerning its alleged practice of denying refunds for in-game purchases when the virtual asset (clothing, tool, , etc.) was removed by Roblox as part of its content moderation efforts. The case was settled in 2023 by an unusual settlement in which part of the settlement amount was paid in cash and part via refunds of Robux.
