Can Roblox's Creator Economy Unlock Its Next Phase of Monetization?

Roblox Corporation RBLX is leaning into its high-growth, creator-led ecosystem by scaling payouts, introducing new incentive structures and broadening monetization channels. The company’s strategy is centered on turning its vast community of developers into a sustainable growth engine, driving deeper engagement and more durable revenue streams.

At the heart of this strategy is the Developer Exchange program, which reached a new milestone in second-quarter 2025. Roblox paid out $316 million to creators, up 52% year over year and nearly double the level from two years ago. Its top 1,000 creators now average close to $1 million annually, while the top 10,000 bring in over $110,000 each.

Complementing payouts is the rollout of the Creator Rewards Program, a shift away from raw time-based incentives toward rewards tied to new user acquisition and organic traffic generation. This adjustment strengthens platform health by aligning creator incentives with Roblox’s broader growth goals. Management emphasized that the new framework will likely encourage viral adoption of fresh content, extending user lifetime value and ecosystem stickiness.

Roblox is also widening its monetization toolkit beyond in-game spending. The company is testing Rewarded Video ads in partnership with Google, giving developers a new way to monetize traffic while expanding advertising revenue potential. In July, Roblox launched its IP licensing marketplace, linking creators with major brands like Netflix, Sega and Lionsgate. These partnerships not only open incremental monetization avenues but also deepen the platform’s appeal with branded content experiences.

Taken together, these initiatives signal Roblox’s ambition to evolve from a purely engagement-led model into a more diversified monetization platform. With 23.4 million monthly unique payers (up 42% year over year) and average bookings per payer up 6%, the foundations are in place for Roblox to extract more value per user while continuing to share upside with its developer community.

RBLX Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Roblox shares have rallied 44.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s rise of 20.6%. In the same time frame, other industry players like Boyd Gaming Corporation BYD, DraftKings Inc. DKNG and Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. MCRI have gained 13.9%, 30.9% and 23.7%, respectively.

RBLX Three-Month Price Performance

RBLX stock is currently trading at a premium. It is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 11.34X, well above the industry average of 3.59X. Then again, other industry players, such as Boyd Gaming, DraftKings and Monarch Casino have P/S ratios of 1.84X, 5.76X and 3.27X, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Roblox’s 2025 loss per share has widened from $1.36 to $1.71 over the past 60 days. This downward revision indicates that analysts have grown more cautious on the company’s near-term earnings profile.

RBLX is likely to report dismal earnings, with projections indicating an 18.8% decline in 2025. Conversely, industry players like Boyd Gaming, DraftKings and Monarch Casino are likely to witness growth of 5.2%, 226.7% and 9.9%, respectively, year over year in 2025 earnings.

RBLX currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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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