Roblox hikes developer earnings by 42%–but only if they make games aimed at adults

Roblox is quadrupling down on chasing adult gamers–and rewarding developers who make games appealing to the 18+ crowd.

This topic cropped up a lot in March. First, longtime Robloxer KreekCraft posted a video saying he’d poured $100K (so far) into building his own Roblox studio that would make games he–a 29-year-old man who spends his non-YouTube time with titles like Elden Ring and Red Dead Redemption 2–would want to play for hours.

Then, Roblox CEO David Baszucki told Yahoo Finance that KreekCraft wasn’t alone. The platform had seen 50% year-over-year growth in players ages 18 and up. Baszucki called this number “a real great signal for future growth,” and said Roblox planned to target 18+ players with a “genre expansion” of titles that had the chance to become “cultural phenomena.”

At the time, we weren’t sure how Roblox planned to accomplish this “genre expansion.”

Now we know: Today it announced a significant Developer Exchange price hike that’ll increase the amount developers of “novel games” make from 18+ players.

The Developer Exchange–aka DevEx–rate controls how Robux, the in-game currency players spend, cashes out into real-world currency for developers. Currently the fixed exchange rate is $0.0038 per 1 Robux, meaning developers can cash out 30,000 Robux spent by players into about ~$114 U.S.

Under this new update, though, developers of “novel games”–Roblox’s term for games it says are “genre-defining” and involve “deeper gameplay [and] distinct visuals”–will see a 42% bump in the exchange rate from Robux spent by 18+ players.

That means their rate will go from $0.0038/1 Robux to $0.005396/1 Robux. 30,000 earned Robux will shoot from $114 to ~$162 on cash-out.

“In the U.S., the 18 to 34 user cohort on Roblox monetizes over 50% higher than our under 18 users,” Roblox said in a company blog post. “This rate increase, which takes effect on June 8, will apply to in-game spend like game passes, Robux subscriptions, select in-game items, and private servers.”

As we mentioned above, there are multiple components required for devs to qualify for this upped exchange rate. Their games must be “novel,” and also must use R15

–a system within Roblox’s engine that upgrades avatars “with advanced skeletal joints [and] a new animation system supporting smooth motion,” per Roblox.

R15 avatars are “lifelike” and “physically simulated,” with the goal of “fit[ting] into more realistic worlds,” Roblox explains. Basically, R15 moves games away from the stiff, cookie cutter boxy body type Roblox is known for and into more fluid motion, with the potential for smoother shapes and an overall higher-res look. It’s a long way from animating individual strands of hair, but R15 still offers a look that will appeal more to typical adult gamers.

The DevEx rate bump is big, but Roblox says it’s doing more to support novel game developers.

In March, it launched the Roblox Incubator program (which it says will “help experienced teams turn promising concepts into commercially successful games”) and the Roblox Jumpstart program (which “will help creators who are new to Roblox, or are exploring new types of games, publish on Roblox Studio”).

So far, those two programs have attracted more than 8,000 applicants, Roblox said.

Roblox is also tweaking its game discovery engine “to prioritize long-term retention,” it said in this new update.

“We’re significantly amplifying discovery for games that meet our criteria for novel games,” Roblox said. “This levels the playing field for ambitious, high-quality games that keep players coming back for years.”

That discovery amplification involves a new “Standout Games” section on Roblox’s home page (pictured above), plus changes to Roblox’s recommendation system, which will “[connect] games that keep players coming back with the largest possible audience that will enjoy them,” per Roblox.

Overall, this is a big update for developers–they’ll earn more money and are being actively incentivized to make non-brainrot games that appeal to a fast-growing demographic of players. We’re curious to see how developers benefit long-term–and what new IPs emerge from their efforts.