Roblox, an online gaming platform most popular with Gen Z, has raised $150 million in Series G funding, the Wall Street Journal has reported. This comes as Roblox Corporation announced a new milestone of 115 million monthly users, a dramatic increase from the 100 million it gained when it surpassed Minecraft’s player base last August.
While older gamers might not have paid much attention to the cutely stylized gaming hangout, Roblox has seen huge growth in the last few years with younger audiences.
Only last year it was valued at $2.5 billion, with Roblox claiming that half of all American children between the ages of 9 and 12 used its platform. Last year it broke into the top five most watched games on YouTube.
Roblox functions like an online hangout space, like Habbo Hotel once was, where players can interact with their friends, play different games, and customize their avatars to be the coolest kid on the virtual block.
The real siren’s call for investors is Robux, the virtual currency that powers Roblox’s in-game marketplace. Roblox operates as a platform for developers as well as players, allowing them to create and sell games, items and even development assets within Roblox. It’s a big enough online economy that even the IRS has taken note.
Roblox’s updates continue to tap into the way young people play games–offering cross-platform support that allows its players to switch easily between mobile and PC play, for example.
Investors seem to have faith that the company’s massive growth won’t be slowing down any time soon, and that its latest $150 million in funding will only further that growth.
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