Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve talked about how Roblox has been trying to expand both its reach and its marketability to both players and brands. The company knows that to finally be profitable and make serious money from their gaming product, they have to do even more than before. Marketing deals and collaborations will only go so far, and so, they prepped a new, bold concept that just went live today. That “concept” is a new in-game store that’ll allow creators and brands to sell real-life items based on the games/worlds they make in the universe. That’s right, you can now wear or use things related to your favorite parts of the game.
The team made a big post about this on their site and helped explain their goals with it:
“Our vision for the future of shopping is an experience that’s more exciting and social than the traditional online shopping experience. On Roblox, you can explore virtual stores, try on clothes, and share the experience with others. This naturally builds interest and purchase intent. Now we’re taking it one step further, bridging the gap between virtual and real-world shopping by enabling Roblox users to purchase physical items.”
The perks of this are actually pretty obvious. First and foremost, it entices creators to put even more effort into their worlds so that people from all over will want to play them. Then, once they enjoy them enough, they’ll want to buy some of that merch.
Second, this is a more “clear-cut” way for creators to make money, which hasn’t been as easy as it should’ve been, as we’ve noted previously, which will push even more people to make merch and get some coin themselves.
Finally, and just as obviously, the dev team will get a cut of all the sales. So, the more sales that happen in the store, the more that all sides benefit. Now, if you’re worried that the store might be a “bit buggy” at launch, the team has already been doing tests on it, and they’ve already had some great results:
“For example, creator studio Twin Atlas leveraged Roblox Commerce APIs in their games Creatures of Sonaria, Dragon Adventures, and World // Zero, resulting in six-figure commerce revenue during the first few weeks. Approximately 90% of their total orders are via their in-game commerce integration3, with half of those coming from repeat customers.”
So, yeah, this store could be a huge thing for the game, so keep an eye out to see if your favorite game/world starts offering stuff to buy!
