Roblox, the global gaming platform, released May 2021 user metrics. The Roblox platform saw 43 million daily active users in May 2021. That is up +28% year over year but down -1% compared to the 43.3 million who played in April 2021.
Roblox defines a daily active user (DAU) as those users who has logged in and visited Roblox through their website or app on a unique registered account on any given calendar day. Furthermore, the metric is seen as an indicator of the size of the audience engaged on the Roblox platform.
ROBLOX FACT BOX: MAY 2021 KEY METRICS
* 43.0 Million Daily Active Users
* 3.2 Billion Hours Engaged
* $216 Million-$219 Million Estimated Bookings
* $149 Million-$151 Million Revenue
It should be noted that DAUs have seen quarterly growth since Q1 2019, according to Roblox’s Q1 2021 results. The growth surged in Q2 2020 as the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic set in. Lockdowns led to increased usage of the platform. Furthermore, that growth continued in subsequent quarters.
In short, it is too early to say whether daily user growth has stalled out.
Hours Engaged
Roblox users continue to spend more time on the platform. The 3.2 billion total hours engaged in May 2021 amounted to a +9% increase year over year and up +1% from the prior month.
Q3 has been the peak quarter in the past two years in regards to hours spent on the platform. Therefore, this Summer’s performance on Roblox will be a key sign.
Bookings and Revenue
Roblox bookings were estimated to be between $216 million and $219 million. This was an increase of +24-+26% year over year. Bookings have grown from quarter to quarter since Q1 2019. Bookings capture how Roblox is monetizing their users through the sale of virtual currency and subscriptions.
Revenue spiked to an estimated $149 million-$151 million. Furthermore, this amounts to an increase in the +123%-+126% range over the prior year.
How Roblox Has Been Attracting Users Recently
The gaming company has had several creative tie-ins recently. A partnership with the Warner Bros. saw a block party for “In The Heights”, the new film directed by Jon M. Chu. Roblox users were invited to explore the Washington Heights neighborhood featured in the film. The party runs through June 20.
In addition, Zara Larsson held a dance party on the platform last month. Roblox players could visit her virtual Swedish lake house and “grab limited-edition merch”.
The Future
Roblox CEO David Baszucki recently told Axios that the future of the platform is becoming a “metaverse”. This “Ready Player One” inspired metaverse could include things like education and workplace applications. Baszucki called it “well beyond play” on the company’s Investor Day video. They aren’t the only ones. Epic Games’ Fortnite, for example, has moved in the direction of all encompassing metaverse in its own right. The more time users spend within these universes, the more opportunities publishers have to extract additional revenue through in-universe currency, virtual goods and subscriptions.
