(Image via: Roblox)
Marking 20 years of platform growth alongside its creator base, the company used the event to announce changes aimed at broadening how people play, equipping creators with more powerful engine and AI tools and setting the stage for the next phase of creator growth on the platform. One of the biggest announcements that Roblox made is that players collectively spent 29 billion hours on the platform last quarter alone, spread across more than 180 countries. Building on that scale, the company revealed a set of updates designed to let players jump into games from anywhere, on any device, stay connected with friends between sessions and explore entirely new game formats and styles. To help players stay connected across different games, Roblox introduced a new Friends chat tab that follows users no matter which game they’re currently in, making it easier for friends to coordinate and jump into new games together. A newly launched voice typing feature also lets players speak instead of type while playing, making in-game communication faster and more natural.
The platform has essentially built a cloud-based operating system for gaming, and the company is now layering AI-powered creation tools on top of that foundation, not as a single standalone tool, but as an entire system designed to handle the complexity that comes with building games, according to Roblox. Roblox Corporation has unveiled a fresh wave of updates at its 12th annual Roblox Developers Conference (RDC), an exclusive gathering that brings together the platform’s community of developers, artists, designers, brands and influencers. Among these updates is Roblox Everywhere that allows creators to reach players wherever they already spend time online. Going forward, creators will have the option to release their games as standalone apps across mobile, PC and console platforms, with Roblox handling the underlying technology and infrastructure behind the scenes. Roblox is also bringing gameplay directly to the web. By the end of this year, players will be able to jump straight into a game through their Chrome browser, accessible directly from a game’s Experience Details Page, with no app download or installation required. Users can access the game via a link, posted anywhere online. Offline play is getting a boost too with players will soon be able to continue playing even without an active internet connection, whether they are mid-flight or dealing with patchy network coverage. Creators will be able to build games that combine both online and offline modes, opening the door to single-player campaigns and offline sessions that don’t rely on a constant connection. Roblox is also expanding beyond its traditional strength in 3D multiplayer worlds, and the platform is rolling out new engine capabilities specifically built for 2D game development. This includes a new orthographic camera, animated image containers and direct sprite-sheet import support. Additional visual upgrades, such as blur effects, text shadows and improved gradients, aim to enhance how games look and feel, while a new notification system will support turn-based, asynchronous multiplayer experiences. One major update here is the expansion of Build, a feature within the Roblox app that lets anyone create and publish a game simply by typing out prompts. Build is now expanding into public alpha testing in Serbia and Singapore. Alongside this expansion, Roblox is rolling out additional tools to give creators finer control, including a new asset library, desktop access, and more iterative editing capabilities. Later this year, Roblox will introduce Scene Generator, a tool bringing prompt-to-scene creation to both Build and Roblox Studio, with Studio offering creators a greater degree of control over the output. Using this tool, creators simply provide a text prompt along with a reference image, and Scene Generator produces a fully functional scene layout that can then be refined further within Studio.
The company also introduced Roblox Wallet, a dedicated financial account designed to scale alongside growing creator businesses. Alongside Wallet, Roblox also announced the Roblox Card, which will let creators spend their available Wallet balance anywhere the card is accepted. Roblox is also expanding what non-player characters, or NPCs, are capable of within games. By the end of the year, two new NPC behaviours will roll out, including NPCs capable of playtesting games themselves. Through Wallet, creators can earn directly in real currency, receive automatic payouts every business day and transfer funds either to other Roblox accounts or to an external bank account, all while accessing more detailed earnings analytics through the Creator Hub. The Roblox Card is set to begin rolling out next year. On the discovery side, Roblox emphasised that great games should be easy for players to find, whether through the platform’s homepage, the Moments tab, or across any browser or device. The Moments tab, where players can browse gameplay videos and tap to jump straight into a game, is now fully available across the United States. Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.