gaming

The History of Roblox and Its Rise to Eminence

Roblox Corporation

Published Oct 12, 2023

The young ones in your life who play Roblox daily will be shocked to learn that the game itself is much older than they are. The world's most popular online game platform and game creation system has enraptured the vivid imaginations of the youth - everywhere you look, you'll most likely spot a toddler having the time of their life in some random player-created game in Roblox. Thanks to its wide availability across Windows-enabled PC desktops & laptops, mobile iOS & Android devices, and PS4 & Xbox One consoles, Roblox has amassed a player base that pours an insane amount of hours into playing and creating everything it has to offer. According to Demand Sage, Roblox has more than 58.8 million daily active users and has accumulated 13.4 billion hours in user engagement. If you've always been curious about how Roblox became such a gaming phenomenon, you've come to the right place. Here are a ton of details on the history of Roblox and its rise to eminence, including its initial release date, co-founders David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, and more

The History of 'Roblox'

Roblox Corporation

When Did 'Roblox' Come Out?

Roblox Corporation

First things first on this piece delving into the intriguing history of Roblox - let's make sure everyone reading this right now understands the exact date the initial version of Roblox launched. That monumental date in gaming history is September 1, 2006.

Who Created 'Roblox?'

Welcome to the Beta Phase

The history of Roblox can be tracked all the way back to 1989. David Baszucki, who's known as the co-founder of and CEO of Roblox Corporation, founded a company called Knowledge Revolution that very same year. The company's focus was educational physics and the creation of mechanical simulation software. During his tenure there with the company, Baszucki wrote his very own general-purpose simulation software called Interactive Physics. Knowledge Revolution remained under Baszucki's leadership as he was its president - he eventually ran into Erik Cassel, who's known as the other co-founder of Roblox Corporation.

In 1999, a company called MSC Software Corporation acquired Knowledge Revolution for $20 million - Baszucki served as vice president while still attached to that company. When Baszucki left in 2004, Cassel left right alongside him and helped found the Roblox Corporation. A couple of employees from MSC Software even followed both men into the company soon after. 2004 also marked the development of Roblox by Baszucki and Cassel - during its initial beta phase, the names "GoBlocks" and "DynaBlocks" were actually considered as the final names for the software itself. On September 1, 2006, Roblox came out of beta and officially launched.

In 2007, Roblox improved via some additional features - those features included a search bar, private messaging that included a safe chat option for users under the age of 13, ticket developers, clubs, and character customization. That same year, the first Roblox currency ("Roblox Points") was introduced as daily login bonuses for players who played minigames. Roblox Points eventually got changed to "Robux" in May 2007. Another form of in-game currency that was introduced at one point was called "Tix," which were tickets that were awarded to players each day that they logged into Roblox (Tix was soon discontinued in March 2016). In August 2007, Roblox went on to improve via server improvements and also introduced a premium membership service called "Builders Club" (this service was rebranded as "Roblox Premium" in September 2019).

Mass Improvements and Console Ports

Roblox Corporation

In December 2011, Roblox's inaugural Hack Week was held - this event has turned into an annual gathering for Roblox developers where they work on varied concepts as brand new game system developments, which are presented to the Roblox Corporation. On October 1, 2013, the Developer Exchange program saw its introduction come to pass - this gave in-game developers the opportunity to turn their Robux into real-world currencies. The history of Roblox became that much more interesting on May 31, 2015, with the introduction of a new feature called "Smooth Terrain." The game's graphical presentation and fidelity improved to a greater degree as its terrain looked better and its blocky look was changed to a more realistic one. Along with those changes, the game's physics engine also changed for the better.

Most of 2017 saw Roblox get several updates to its server technology and also get closure to its official forums. Then in November 2018, players finally got the option to hop into the game as a guest without the need to make an account. In July 2020, Roblox announced and launched the creation of "Party Place," which functions as an online hangout that operates as a private server (it became a crucial way for gamers to socialize with each other during the pandemic). Come December 3, 2020, China finally allowed Roblox to be released within its region.

When it comes to being ported to other devices and consoles, Roblox got its first port on December 11, 2012, when it arrived on iOS-enabled devices. Then on July 16, 2014, the game became available on Android-enabled devices. And then on November 20, 2015, Roblox made its way over to a home console via the Xbox One - Roblox staff chose 15 games to make up the initial offering of titles available on the game creation platform. From that point forward, Roblox games that are set to be added to the Xbox One version have to go through an approval process and are subject to being rated according to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's (ESRB) standards. Roblox finally made its way onto the Oculus Rift as Roblox VR in April 2016 - this VR port ended up making more than ten million games available at the time of release. Then in June 2016, Roblox launched a new PC version that was compatible with Windows 10. Finally, Roblox came to the PS4 on October 10, 2023.