There was a time when video games were incredibly restrictive in how you played them. That’s simply because the technology of the time period didn’t allow developers to create things outside of a confined space, like an arcade cabinet or a console. Even when there were handheld devices, they were incredibly simplistic in their game forms. However, as time went on, mobile gaming grew, such as with the Game Boy. Then, mobile gaming bloomed further via smartphones, which led to all manner of titles being available to play, including Roblox. That has been a bigger boon for the game and its developer than you might think.
As noted by Pocketgamer, when the developer revealed its annual report for 2024, it revealed that while it had about 85 million daily users in that year, 80% of them were coming from mobile platforms. PC users came in second with 17%, and consoles finished up with the final 3%.
That alone is a surprising thing at first, but then, when you break down what Roblox is and how people often play, having it on their phones is the perfect setup for them to “jump in and out” depending on what they’re doing at any moment in time. They could have a ten-minute break, bust out their phones, play a mini-game, or chat with some people, then put it away when they have to get back to work. Simple stuff, right?
Another surprise from that annual report, though, was that despite the mobile users being 80% of the fanbase, they only helped make 46% of the revenue. That’s a bit shocking, don’t you think? One of the reasons for this is because of the costs that the App Store and Google Play charge to titles like this to allow them to run on their operating systems. It’s something that many games and developers have to deal with, and many aren’t happy about it. However, as the team noted, it’s a “necessary” thing to deal with so that others can play on mobile devices.
Another way to look at this, though, is that if you’re a creator, you’re not likely to use your phone to make things. You’d rather be on a PC or a console, so you have more freedom of movement and a bigger screen to carefully plot your idea.
Even with all of this, it’s clear that the nature of those who play the game is more “play on the go” minded than “play it for hours on my couch” minded, and that’s pretty interesting.
