Roblox Corporation

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Roblox Corporation
TypePublic
NYSE: RBLX
ISINUS7710491033
IndustryVideo games
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004) in Menlo Park, California, US
Founders
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
,
US
Key people
David Baszucki (CEO)
ProductsRoblox
RevenueIncrease US$923,9 million[1] (2020)
Number of employees
1,234[2] (2021)
Subsidiaries

Roblox Corporation is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California. Founded in 2004 by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, the company is the developer of Roblox, which was released in 2006. As of June 30, 2021, Roblox Corporation employs 1,234 people.[2]

History

Roblox Corporation's co-founder and CEO, David Baszucki, in 2018

Roblox Corporation was founded by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel. Baszucki had previously founded Knowledge Revolution, an educational software company, in 1989. That year, through the company, he and Cassel developed Interactive Physics, a 2D physics simulation.[3][4] Knowledge Revolution followed this up with Working Model, which simulated mechanical devices.[3] The company was eventually purchased in December 1998 for US$20 million by MSC Software, where Baszucki and Cassel obtained senior positions.[3][5] Baszucki was the company's vice president and general manager from 2000 until 2002, when he left MSC Software to establish Baszucki & Associates, an angel investment firm.[5] He and Cassel founded Roblox Corporation in 2004.[4][5] Working from an office in Menlo Park, California, they began preliminary work on the video game DynaBlocks, which was launched in a beta state later that year.[3][5] The game's name was changed to Roblox in 2005, and the game was formally released on September 1, 2006.[5]

Cassel died from cancer on February 11, 2013.[3][5] In December 2013, Roblox Corporation had 68 employees, which it raised to 163 by December 2016.[6] The company secured a $82 million investment in March 2017 through a round of funding led by Meritech Capital Partners and Index Ventures.[7] Eyeing international expansion, Roblox Corporation established Roblox International and hired Chris Misner as its president in May 2018.[8] Under Misner, Roblox was launched in Chinese (in partnership with Tencent), German, and French in 2019.[9][10] By September 2018, Roblox Corporation had hired Dan Williams (previously of Dropbox) to move Roblox from a third-party cloud computing service to a proprietary one.[11] The company acquired PacketZoom, a developer of mobile networks optimization software, in October 2018. PacketZoom, including its employees and founder and chief technology officer Chetan Ahuja, was merged into Roblox Corporation.[12]

A "series G" funding round in February 2020, led by Andreessen Horowitz, raised $150 million for Roblox Corporation and valued the company at $4 billion.[13] By October 2020, Roblox Corporation had begun planning to become a public company, evaluating whether to perform a regular initial public offering (IPO) or using the less common method of a direct listing.[13] Later that month, the company filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prepare an IPO worth $1 billion, looking to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol "RBLX".[14] By this time, the company had more than 830 full-time employees and 1,700 "trust and safety agents".[15] The company acquired Loom.ai, a company that creates 3D avatars from photographs, in December 2020.[16] In January 2021, Roblox Corporation announced that it would pursue a direct listing instead of an IPO.[17] The SEC had also requested that Roblox Corporation changes how it reports the sales of its virtual currency, Robux.[18] In the same month, Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group led a "series H" round of funding that valued the company at $29,5 billion.[17] The NYSE approved the direct listing of Roblox Corporation's class A shares by February 2021.[18][19] The shares began trading on March 10 that year, with the initial buys giving the company an estimated $41,9 billion valuation.[20][21] In August 2021, Roblox Corporation acquired the online communication platforms Bash Video and Guilded, paying $90 million in cash and stock for the latter.[22][23][24]

Reception

Accolades

Roblox Corporation has been ranked on Pocket Gamer.biz's top lists of mobile game developers, placing sixth in 2018,[25] eighth in 2019,[26] and sixth in 2020.[27] Fortune featured it as one of the best small and medium-sized workplaces in the San Francisco Bay Area, placing it sixteenth in 2019 and fortieth in 2021.[28][29] In 2016 and 2017, Inc. ranked Roblox Corporation on its "Inc. 5000" list of fastest-growing privates companies in the United States.[30][31] In 2020, Fast Company regarded it as the ninth-most innovative company in the world, as well as the most innovative in the gaming sector.[32][33]

Criticism

External videos
video icon Investigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game Developers
video icon Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper.

On August 19, 2021, YouTube channel People Make Games released the results of their investigation into the Roblox Corporation.[34] In their video report, they allege the company exploits young video game developers by taking an outsized share (75.5%) of revenue made from games on their platform.[34][35][36][37] In a discussion with Axios, Roblox chief product officer (CPO) Manuel Bronstein responded by saying that Roblox's intent is to give more money to its community developers.[38]

After the report's publication, Roblox asked People Make Games to retract the video.[39][40] Instead, they released a follow-up video report which further outlined several child safety issues they felt were present in Roblox.[39][41]

Legal disputes

In June 2016, Cinemark Theatres filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation over trademark infringement. The plaintiff cited several user-created games within Roblox that recreated Cinemark locations, including the trademarked branding.[42]

In February 2018, YouTuber Kerstin Hoffmann, known as Keisyo, claimed that Roblox Corporation owed her $150 000 because the company had stopped her from converting her 42 million Robux balance into real-world money for no given reason. In response, Roblox Corporation stated that she could not transfer her Robux because she had earned them through "fraudulent activities".[43]

In May 2021, an unnamed litigant filed a class-action lawsuit against Roblox Corporation, accusing the company of ripping off players with bogus purchases. Stating "The company's decision to sell first and 'moderate' later has obvious monetary benefit for Roblox, by the time defendant has deleted items from the Avatar Shop and users' inventories, it has already taken its 30% commission from the sale." Roblox Corporation said that they review all content submitted by developers through a multi-step review process before it appears on the platform.[44]

In June 2021, the National Music Publishers' Association filed a lawsuit against Roblox Corporation for $200 million, accusing the company of infringing copyright laws. The complaint states, "Roblox actively preys on its impressionable user base and their desire for popular music, teaching children that pirating music is perfectly acceptable."[45] Roblox Corporation responded to the lawsuit by contending that they "do not tolerate copyright infringement", and expressing an intent to contest the lawsuit.[46] On September 27, 2021 Roblox and NMPA announced they had reached an agreement which "settles claims filed by NMPA members [and] offers an industry-wide opt-in open to all eligible NMPA publishers," settling the lawsuit. [47]

In November 2021, Roblox Corporation filed a $1.65 million lawsuit against YouTuber Benjamin Robert Simon, also known online as Ruben Sim. The complaint states a breach of contract, "cyber-bullying and harassing Roblox employees and executives" and "posting false and misleading terrorist threats" during the Roblox Developer Conference 2021 which led to it being temporarily shutdown.[48][49]

References

  1. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (22 de February de 2021). «Roblox plans to list shares on March 10, reports 82% revenue growth to $923 million for 2020». VentureBeat. Archivado desde el original el 24 de May de 2021. Consultado el 27 de August de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  2. ↑ 2,0 2,1 «Shareholder Letter – Q2 2021». Roblox Corporation. 16 de August de 2021. Consultado el 2 de September de 2021. 
  3. ↑ 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 Fennimore, Jack (24 de July de 2017). «Roblox: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know». Heavy.com. Archivado desde el original el 29 de November de 2018. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  4. ↑ 4,0 4,1 Takahashi, Dean (19 de November de 2020). «Roblox files for IPO, a first for user-generated game platforms». VentureBeat. Archivado desde el original el 26 de January de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  5. ↑ 5,0 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 Gatollari, Mustafa (6 de March de 2020). «'Roblox' Has Been Captivating Players for Over 13 Years, and It All Started With Two Men». Distractify. Archivado desde el original el 28 de January de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  6. ↑ Knapp, Alex (14 de March de 2017). «Roblox Has Raised $92 Million To Expand Its Gaming Platform». Forbes. Archivado desde el original el 12 de January de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  7. ↑ MCV Staff (15 de March de 2017). «Roblox Corporation snags $92 million investment round». MCV/Develop. Archivado desde el original el 12 de November de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  8. ↑ Dickson, Jeremy (28 de May de 2018). «Roblox plots international growth with ex-Apple exec». Kidscreen. Archivado desde el original el 17 de January de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  9. ↑ Perez, Sarah (29 de May de 2019). «Eyeing an entry into China, Roblox enters strategic partnership with Tencent». TechCrunch. Archivado desde el original el 18 de December de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  10. ↑ Ram, Aliya (8 de April de 2019). «Roblox games platform plans European expansion». Financial Times. Archivado desde el original el 19 de September de 2019. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  11. ↑ Knapp, Alex (18 de September de 2018). «How Roblox Is Training The Next Generation Of Gaming Entrepreneurs». Forbes. Archivado desde el original el 30 de November de 2018. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  12. ↑ Knapp, Alex (11 de October de 2018). «Social Gaming Platform Roblox Acquires Mobile Performance Startup PacketZoom». Forbes. Archivado desde el original el 28 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  13. ↑ 13,0 13,1 Sen, Anirban; Franklin, Joshua; Hu, Krystal (1 de October de 2020). «Exclusive: U.S. gaming platform Roblox prepares to go public – sources». Reuters. Archivado desde el original el 2 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  14. ↑ Sen, Anirban (19 de November de 2020). «Roblox IPO filing shows revenue surge as gaming thrives during pandemic». Reuters. Archivado desde el original el 28 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  15. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (20 de November de 2020). «Roblox files for IPO». GamesIndustry.biz. Archivado desde el original el 22 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  16. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (14 de December de 2020). «Roblox acquires Loom.ai for realistic avatars and delays IPO to 2021». VentureBeat. Archivado desde el original el 16 de August de 2021. Consultado el 16 de August de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  17. ↑ 17,0 17,1 Franklin, Joshua; Sen, Anirban (6 de January de 2021). «Gaming site Roblox valued at $30 bln, plans direct listing». Reuters. Archivado desde el original el 5 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  18. ↑ 18,0 18,1 Van Allen, Eric (22 de February de 2021). «Roblox to begin trading shares in March». GamesIndustry.biz. Archivado desde el original el 22 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  19. ↑ Chandler, Sam (22 de February de 2021). «Roblox (RBLX) direct listing set for March after two IPO delays». Shacknews. Archivado desde el original el 23 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  20. ↑ Grothaus, Michael (10 de March de 2021). «Roblox goes public: What to know as RBLX stock debuts on the NYSE». Fast Company. Archivado desde el original el 10 de March de 2021. Consultado el 10 de March de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  21. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (10 de March de 2021). «Roblox goes public at $41.9 billion valuation in direct listing». VentureBeat. Archivado desde el original el 10 de March de 2021. Consultado el 10 de March de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  22. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (11 de August de 2021). «Roblox acqui-hires Jim Greer's Bash Video platform». VentureBeat. Archivado desde el original el 16 de August de 2021. Consultado el 16 de August de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  23. ↑ Francis, Bryant (16 de August de 2021). «Roblox now owns online communications platform Guilded». Gamasutra. Archivado desde el original el 16 de August de 2021. Consultado el 16 de August de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  24. ↑ «Form 10-Q». Roblox Corporation. 30 de June de 2021. Consultado el 1 de September de 2021. 
  25. ↑ «Top 50 Mobile Game Developers of 2018». Pocket Gamer.biz. 21 de August de 2018. Archivado desde el original el 3 de October de 2019. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  26. ↑ «The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2019». Pocket Gamer.biz. 1 de October de 2019. Archivado desde el original el 3 de October de 2019. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  27. ↑ «The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2020». Pocket Gamer.biz. 8 de September de 2020. Archivado desde el original el 28 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  28. ↑ «The 70 Best Companies to Work For in the Bay Area». Fortune. 28 de February de 2019. Archivado desde el original el 24 de February de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  29. ↑ «Working at Roblox». Great Place to Work. 2021. Archivado desde el original el 17 de January de 2021. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  30. ↑ «Inc. 5000 2016». Inc. 2016. Archivado desde el original el 29 de September de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  31. ↑ «Inc. 5000 2017». Inc. 2017. Archivado desde el original el 23 de September de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  32. ↑ «The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2020». Fast Company. 2020. Archivado desde el original el 21 de April de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  33. ↑ «The 10 most innovative gaming companies in 2020». Fast Company. 2020. Archivado desde el original el 21 de April de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  34. ↑ 34,0 34,1 D'Anastasio, Cecilia (19 de August de 2021). «On Roblox, Kids Learn It's Hard to Earn Money Making Games». Wired (en en-US). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  35. ↑ Watts, Rachel (11 de October de 2021). «Here's everything you need to know about Roblox, the gaming megaplatform making its own rules». PC Gamer (en English). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  36. ↑ Wille, Matt (22 de August de 2021). «Roblox is tricking kids into underpaid game development». Input (en English). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  37. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (19 de August de 2021). «It's Shocking Just How Shady Roblox Actually Is». Kotaku (en en-US). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  38. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (15 de October de 2021). «Roblox outlines future for the virtual platform». Axios (en English). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  39. ↑ 39,0 39,1 Nightingale, Ed (14 de December de 2021). «Roblox accused of being an unsafe environment for children». Eurogamer (en English). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  40. ↑ Campbell, Kyle (15 de December de 2021). «Roblox is facing accusations of being unsafe for children». USA Today (en English) (Gannett). For The Win. Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  41. ↑ Gach, Ethan (13 de December de 2021). «YouTubers Are Making Roblox Sound Even Shadier Than Before». Kotaku (en en-US). Consultado el 18 de December de 2021. 
  42. ↑ Cushing, Tim (22 de June de 2016). «Cinemark Files Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Roblox Over User-Generated Content». Techdirt. Archivado desde el original el 8 de November de 2020. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  43. ↑ Hood, Vic (27 de February de 2018). «YouTuber claims Roblox owe her $150,000 – they disagree». PCGamesN. Archivado desde el original el 25 de September de 2019. Consultado el 28 de February de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  44. ↑ Burnson, Robert (26 de May de 2021). «Roblox Accused in Suit of Cheating Kids With Bogus Purchases». MSN. Bloomberg News. Archivado desde el original el 26 de May de 2021. Consultado el 28 de May de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  45. ↑ Steele, Anne (26 de May de 2021). «Music Publishers Sue Roblox for Letting Game Creators Use Unlicensed Songs». Wall Street Journal. Archivado desde el original el 9 de June de 2021. Consultado el 9 de June de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  46. ↑ Spangler, Todd (10 de June de 2021). «Roblox Responds to Music Publishers $200 Million Copyright-Infringement Lawsuit». Variety. Archivado desde el original el 28 de June de 2021. Consultado el 29 de June de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  47. ↑ Aswad, Jem (27 de September de 2021). «Roblox and National Music Publishers Association Settle $200 Million Copyright Lawsuit». Variety. Consultado el 18 de October de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  48. ↑ Robertson, Adi (24 de November de 2021). «Roblox sues YouTuber for temporarily shutting down conference with fake terrorist threat». The Verge. Archivado desde el original el 25 de November de 2021. Consultado el 26 de November de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)
  49. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (24 de November de 2021). «Roblox sues banned ‘cybermob leader’ for terrorizing the platform, its developers». Polygon. Archivado desde el original el 25 de November de 2021. Consultado el 26 de November de 2021.  Parámetro desconocido |url-status= ignorado (ayuda)

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