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Andrew Willis: Roblox (RBLX) has been around for nearly two decades. First launched in 2004, the platform first had a low profile as the (programming) language and the ‘Do-it-Yourself’ gaming experience developed.
Today it’s grown into a giant community that defines the category 'Massively Multiplayer Online’.
Players interact with one another online, in changing environments also controlled by fellow players. The items, the rules, the physics, everything is user-programmed, and much can be turned into real money. That’s where Roblox makes its money, actually, and it’s what the kids have been up to these days – with some young gamers deciding to become developers with that increased screen time.
Senior equity analyst Neil Macker says that users spent around 11 billion hours of screen time collectively - and 638 million US dollars – on the program this last quarter. And while the Roblox ‘population’ now counts around 50 million daily users, around half of those are under the age of 13, so there is room for growth.
The company’s efforts to increase the average age of its users are starting to work, with older gamers now making up around 28% of the top one thousand games available. The next question is whether it’s even possible to spend more time on your screen these days.
For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.
Editor's Note: All images are courtesy of Unsplash.com and AP Images.