Koreans are serious about games. Korea is such an important market that if a game does not succeed here, it is hard for it to become a global hit.
Jerret West, Roblox chief marketing officer (CMO), said accordingly at a press briefing held on the 11th at the Andaz Hotel in Gangnam District, Seoul, saying, "In Korea, 60% of the population enjoys games, and it is a market with many passionate gamers." West described the Korean gaming market as "one of the fastest-growing markets in the world" and projected it would grow an average of 10.5% annually from this year to 2030. That outpaces the projected global growth rate of 8.7%.
Keeping pace with this trend, Roblox is also growing rapidly in the Korean market. Richard Chae, head of Roblox Korea, said, "The number of Roblox users in Korea increased an average of 18% annually from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the end of last year, and more than 130 Korean creators (game content creators) obtained eligibility for revenue sharing from Roblox."
Founded in 2004 in California, Roblox has grown through user-generated content (UGC). On the Roblox platform, users can make games themselves or join games made by others, and the number of games—what the company calls "experiences"—reaches 7 million. Roblox's global monthly active users (MAU) have surpassed 500 million, and daily active users (DAU) who log in every day to create or enjoy games reached 151.5 million in the third quarter of this year.
West said, "For the top five popular game intellectual properties (IP), concurrent users exceed 1 million, and there was even a case where 22 million people connected simultaneously to a single game." Roblox initially started as an education-based platform focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), but as a wide range of creators and users flocked to it, the types of games diversified beyond education into genres such as role-playing games (RPG) and open-world action-adventure.
In Korea in particular, it became explosively popular among elementary school students, earning the nickname "elementary school president." West said Roblox is transforming into a game enjoyed by all age groups and wants to move away from the image of being "a game only for children." "Roblox is known in Korea as the 'elementary school president,' but our goal is to become the 'fun president' that brings fun," West said, adding, "In fact, more than two-thirds of Roblox users are 13 or older."
West assessed that Korean Roblox content and creator activity are also contributing to Roblox's business in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. "Roblox grew 110% in the APAC region, and Korea contributed significantly," West said. "That is because Korea has great influence in the global market in content and entertainment," West added, noting that "54% of the users consuming content made by Korean creators are overseas users." The main export markets were found to be Brazil, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Going forward, Roblox said it will expand support for Korean creators to provide opportunities to enter overseas markets. According to the "Korea Economic Impact 2025" report released that day, Roblox supported more than 130 Korean creators who obtained eligibility for revenue sharing last year, and the total revenue paid to them increased by 68%. Through the Developer Exchange Program, Roblox's contribution to Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) from 2019 to 2024 is analyzed at $20.8 million (about 27.2 billion won).
"Now is a better time than ever to be active as a creator," West said, adding, "The top 1,000 Roblox creators earn $1.1 million (1.6 billion won) annually, up 40% from the previous year."
In Aug., Roblox opened its first pop-up store in Korea and is accelerating its push into the Korean market by releasing in-game items from K-pop girl group aespa. Recently, it officially entered the Samsung Galaxy Store and the handheld gaming PCs ROG Ally and ROG Ally X.
"Roblox's differentiator is the depth of content created by creators in more than 170 countries worldwide and a platform that enables interaction," West said, adding, "Roblox is working to lower the barriers to game development through tools that anyone can easily access and use."