Roblox Opens Direct Cash Access for Creators as Platform Expands Beyond Games

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Roblox Corporation used its annual Roblox Developer Conference to announce a financial and technical expansion of its platform. Creators have earned more than $5 billion since 2013, and the company is introducing financial infrastructure designed to give developers direct access to real-currency earnings.

Developer earnings reached $1.7 billion over the trailing 12 months, according to the San Mateo-based company, amid rapid growth in user engagement across its global network. Roblox is supporting that creator economy with a dedicated financial suite that includes the Roblox Wallet and a native payment card.

The company established its developer monetization framework in October 2013 through the Developer Exchange, or DevEx, program. The system originally allowed game creators to convert platform-native Robux currency into U.S. dollars. Creator payouts have since grown from single-digit millions annually to hundreds of millions per year.

Developed with Airwallex, a cross-border payments infrastructure provider, the Roblox Wallet will let eligible creators receive real-money payouts by the end of each business day and transfer funds directly to external bank accounts. Its initial launch is limited to U.S.-based creators aged 18 and older, while global deployment is planned for subsequent phases.

Roblox also teased the Roblox Card, which is planned for release next year. Developers will be able to spend their platform earnings directly at commercial merchants through the card.

The company is extending the reach of its engine by allowing developers to publish games compiled with the Roblox engine as standalone applications across mobile operating systems, personal computers, and console hardware. The platform is available on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Meta Quest, Sony PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

By the end of this year, players will be able to launch and join games directly within web browsers through URL links. Roblox is also debuting specialized 2D game creation features, including orthographic camera support, animated image containers, and direct sprite-sheet importing for 2D animation workflows.

Its natural-language game creation system, titled “Build,” is moving beyond its initial testing in New Zealand. The testing phase now includes creators in Serbia and Singapore, with the system generating 3D elements and environments from text prompts.

Build is receiving a dedicated desktop interface for larger displays, an integrated asset library, and expanded iterative creation controls. Later this year, Roblox plans to add prompt-based scene generation and integrate that capability directly into Roblox Studio, its core development software.

The new AI functions follow earlier tools from Roblox, including automated Lua code generation and AI-assisted 3D material generation. For game development and live operations, the company also plans to introduce expanded non-player character capabilities later this year, including autonomous AI NPCs that can playtest games during development.

Creators will gain an offline mode that allows players to maintain gameplay sessions in locations with low network connectivity. The platform’s user experience is also being updated with a persistent cross-game Friends chat tab equipped with voice-typing capabilities, allowing communication across different virtual experiences.

Roblox is modifying its content discovery algorithm to tailor game recommendations according to session duration and user age. The updated system will route shorter-format games to younger users while surfacing experiences with longer average playtimes to older demographics.

Within the company’s “Moments” vertical video feed, viewers will be able to select avatars featured in short clips and purchase virtual items immediately.

Roblox was founded in 2004 by David Baszucki and the late Erik Cassel, publicly launched in 2006, and completed a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2021. According to metrics presented by Baszucki, Chief Executive Officer of Roblox, users accumulated more than 29 billion engagement hours across 180 countries during the company’s most recent quarter.