Roblox is not just a children's game but a social platform. Inside Roblox, you can shop while playing games, follow sports, or watch and create video content. It is, in effect, a platform that offers a comprehensive experience on the level of "Internet 3.0."
Christian Bailey, head of global licensing at Roblox, said this on the 6th as a speaker at Content Insight, held at Hongneung Content Culture Plaza in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, on the theme of "Building a global intellectual property (IP) universe: How Roblox expands beyond games into the world of content." The event, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), featured lectures and workshops that looked ahead to the future of the content industry with global content industry experts.
Christian said, "Roblox is the fastest-growing game platform in the world," adding, "It has grown eight times faster than the game industry, which has surged over the past 20 years." He continued, "Another point to note is that these figures do not include China, and Roblox plans to enter the Chinese market next year," explaining, "Games with a similar MAU to Roblox, such as League of Legends, Honor of Kings, and Fortnite, have more than half of their users in China, making Roblox the only platform showing strong growth without the Chinese market."
However, Roblox's entry into China is not a done deal. Roblox headquarters said, "Roblox is currently operating a closely coordinated joint venture with Tencent, and the developer community is also growing," and added, "We continue to explore opportunities to grow our business in China, but there has been nothing officially released regarding changes to our operations in China," drawing a line on the prospect of entering China.
Roblox's popularity is captivating teenagers around the world. Roblox's global monthly active users (MAU) have surpassed 500 million, and daily active users (DAU) reach 150 million. In the United States, 62% of teenagers use Roblox every day, and there are survey results showing that more than half of teens spend more time on relationships inside Roblox than with friends in real life. Roblox has also been named the most popular game among children ages 8 to 12 in the United Kingdom.
Christian explained that Roblox is a platform where anyone can be a creator and, at the same time, enjoy almost every type of content. He said, "Users can create anything they can imagine— their own games, fashion, items, and spaces— through Studio," adding, "They share what they make on external platforms such as YouTube and TikTok." He added, "Users can also access millions of pieces of content on the platform, and this includes nearly every kind of content you can imagine."
He then said Roblox is a platform that creates and spreads global trends. He said, "Most memes or expressions popular these days either start on Roblox or, at minimum, spread explosively on Roblox," adding, "For example, the recently emergent meme 'Stellar Brainrot' surpassed 25 million concurrent users worldwide within two months of launching on Roblox." He continued, "About 1.2 billion Roblox-related videos are consumed daily on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok," explaining, "This shows a powerful virtuous cycle created by the community and the platform together."
Christian emphasized that Roblox is no longer a children's game but a global social platform. He said, "An 8-year-old who was playing Roblox 10 years ago is now in their 20s and still active on the platform," adding, "The perception that Roblox is a children's game is already a story from 10 years ago." He continued, "This generation prefers Roblox over traditional social media," and said, "Social media like Instagram or TikTok is a one-way content consumption structure, whereas Roblox offers an immersive 3D environment where you can share the same space with friends, talk, and collaborate."
He went on to explain that Roblox is becoming a new hub for brand and IP expansion. He said, "Many global corporations see Roblox not as a simple promotional tool but as a new starting point for IP," adding, "They build the world of the brand directly, share stories, and interact with fans, and this connects to real-world consumption behavior." He continued, "In fact, after experiences inside Roblox, purchase intent rose 13% and brand awareness increased by 9% to 10%," explaining, "In particular, today's teens barely know the legacy brands familiar to us, and the key is to let them experience the brand."
Christian also shared a collaboration case between Roblox and K-pop Demon Hunters. He said, "The KDH universe itself is not unfamiliar. The setup of teenage characters forming a team to save the world has already been used in various IP," and added, "The key is the music, and when we collaborated with Netflix, we put the music front and center." He continued, "In particular, about 6 million people took part in a one-day sing-along event held in The Block, a music and performance curation space inside Roblox," adding, "That figure is on par with Taylor Swift's global cumulative audience."