Can Roblox's Developer Ecosystem Fuel Its Next Growth Phase?

Roblox Corporation RBLX is doubling down on its developer ecosystem as a strategic growth engine and the latest results indicate this approach is gaining traction. 

In first-quarter 2025, creator payouts rose 39% year over year to $281 million, with more than 100 developers earning $1 million or more in the past 12 months. This strong creator monetization points to a broadening and maturing development community that could underpin Roblox's next growth wave.

A big contributor to this momentum is the platform’s investment in tools and incentives that make game creation easier, more profitable and globally scalable. Roblox’s pricing optimization, regional monetization strategies and transparent algorithmic discovery have not only enhanced earnings potential but also diversified the types of successful content. 24% of the top 100 experiences by spending in March were built within the past year, an encouraging sign of creative churn and content velocity.

AI is also playing a pivotal role. With native tools like Cube 3D and generative 4D asset creation, Roblox is enabling developers to produce interactive, code-embedded experiences at scale. As a result, the top 100 creators averaged $6.7 million in earnings over the past year, up 35% year over year.

As Roblox eyes a 10% market share in global gaming, its strategy hinges on scaling the ecosystem, not just through big studios but by nurturing a long tail of creators across genres. If this trajectory continues, the developer community may well be Roblox’s most valuable asset in capturing the next stage of digital entertainment.

RBLX’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

RBLX’s shares have gained 77.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s increase of 26.5%. In the same time frame, shares of other industry players, such as Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. TTWO and Electronic Arts Inc. EA, have gained 0.1% and 4%, respectively.

Price Performance

With the recent gain, RBLX is priced at a premium relative to its industry. Its forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 13.22 is well below the industry average. Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts’ forward 12-month price-to-sales ratios are 5.62 and 4.8, respectively.

P/S (F12M)

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 loss per share has widened to $1.42 in the past 30 days. In 2024, the company reported adjusted loss per share of $1.44.

Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts’ earnings in fiscal 2026 are likely to witness growth of 31.7% and 20.5%, respectively.

RBLX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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