Roblox Reports Major Revenue Growth Leading Up to Going Public

Roblox, the massive virtual online sandbox that has attracted millions of daily users in recent years, will officially go public through a direct listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange on March 10.

Roblox's surge in player counts led to an increase in revenue in 2020. The company reported that revenue grew 82% that year, from $508.4 million in 2019 to $923.9 million in 2020. This information makes it seem like the perfect time for the company to go public, as it has confirmed that its shareholders will sell shares through a direct listing, though the company itself will not raise new money. This is a shift from its original plan of going public through an IPO. Roblox will trade on the NY Stock Exchange under the name RBLX.

For those who are unfamiliar, Roblox functions as a sandbox game where users can either create their own games or play the games that others have created. The game is free, but makes its revenue through an in-game currency called Robux. Players use the currency to purchase games created by other users, which in turn generates money for users who created those games. Roblox keeps 30% of the revenue for itself. According to the company, more than 1.25 million developers earned Robux on the platform.

Thanks to its accessibility and colorful graphics, Roblox has become one of the most popular games among children. The game’s creators have capitalized on this by releasing content geared towards children, such as how it hosted a Lil Nas X concert last fall. Its popularity is reflected in its games and user counts, as the company revealed that as of December 31, 2020, there were more than 20 million user-created experiences on the platform. It also reported that daily active users rose from an average of 17.6 million in 2019 to 32.6 million in 2020.

But despite Roblox's recent success, it still faces financial problems. Even though revenue grew in 2020, the company lost $253.3 million the same year from an increase in expenses on infrastructure, marketing, research, and development. That is an increase over 2019, when the company lost $71 million.

Big Paintball is one of the more popular games within Roblox. The mode allows players to experience FPS paintball action online with up to 18 players, and it has won awards within Roblox as a very popular game. Now, Big Paintball is expanding with new and remastered maps, a new game mode, gameplay enhancements, and more.

Roblox is a popular game, especially among kids, and a game like Big Paintball is a solid choice for many parents in allowing their kids to play a shooter that leans away from being violent. Thanks to the game's success, Big Paintball is seeing some exciting additional content.

For starters, Big Paintball recently received two new maps, Suijin and Safehouse. Suijin is inspired by Japanese architecture and offers versatile terrain. Safehouse offers indoor and outdoor action. Teams vie for control of the safe house, as the outer areas offer room for flanking. These two maps bring the total to 10. On top of Suijin and Safehouse, the other 8 maps are being remastered and reworked slightly. The color pallets are being altered and more cover and flanking routes are being worked on.