Roblox is developing tools that will allow developers to offer subscriptions within their experiences, according to a blog post published on Tuesdaywhich could turn out to be a major new way for developers to make money from their experiences.
Roblox already offers developers many ways to monetize their experiences, including the ability to sell virtual items within an experience or on the Roblox marketplace, offering in-experience passes to certain content and blocking experiences behind paid access. However, these examples are all one-time charges, and Roblox argues that subscriptions would offer developers a way “to establish a recurring economic relationship with their users and potentially increase their revenue predictability”. (Other monetization options include private server subscriptions, commitment-based paymentsand insertion into Roblox’s “immersive ads”.)
Subscriptions would also give Roblox another thing he can state as a reason for developing his metaverse platform over others. epic games’ new system of Fortnitefor example, rewards creators based on factors such as how long people play their experiments but does not allow creators to directly sell virtual goods or subscriptions in these experiences. Developers looking for more flexibility in how they monetize can choose Roblox instead.
Roblox didn’t say when the subscriptions might be available, so you probably shouldn’t build an experience around them just yet. I hope too Roblox think of controls that prevent the large number of children who play the game by inadvertently signing up for subscriptions that they or their parents do not want to pay for.
In the blog post, Roblox also said that “further” he considers “the possibility of buying real-world goods as part of an experience” as something he could offer, but there is also no timeline specific for it.
Last month, Roblox introduces a way for developers to create player-only experiences 17 and over. The company has come under scrutiny this week after Bloomberg reported that some employees feel it is not doing enough to address diversity concerns.
