ROBLOX

Roblox (/ˈroʊblɒks/) is an online game platform and game creation

system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users
to program games and play games created by other users. Created
by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and released in 2006,
the platform hosts user-created games of multiple genres coded in
the programming language Lua. For most of Roblox's history, it
was relatively small, both as a platform and as a
company. Roblox began to grow rapidly in the second half of the
2010s, and this growth has been accelerated by the COVID-19
pandemic.
Roblox is free to play, with in-game purchases available through a
virtual currency called Robux. As of August 2020, Roblox had over
164 million monthly active users, including more than half of all
American children under 16. Although Roblox has received
generally positive reviews from critics, it has faced criticism for its
moderation and microtransactions and accusations of exploitative
practices directed toward children.

Roblox Studio

The Roblox Studio logo

Roblox allows players to create their own games using its

proprietary engine, Roblox Studio, which can then be played by
other users. Games (called "experiences" by the corporation) are
made with a derivative of the language Lua named Luau. Users are
able to create purchasable content through one-time purchases,
known as "game passes", as well as microtransactions which can
be purchased more than once, known as "developer products" or
"products". The majority of games produced using Roblox Studio
are developed by minors, and a total of 20 million games a year are
produced using it.

Items and currency

Logo of the virtual currency "Robux"

Roblox allows players to buy, sell, and create virtual items which

can be used to decorate their virtual character that serves as
their avatar on the platform. Clothes can be bought by anyone, but
only players with a Premium membership can sell them.
Only Roblox administrators can sell accessories, body parts, gear,
and packages under the official Roblox user account; virtual hats
and accessories can also be published by a select few users with
past experience working with Roblox Corporation. Several
individuals design items as a full-time job, with the highest-earning
creators making over $100,000 a year off item sales. Items with a
limited edition status can only be traded between or sold by users
with a Roblox Premium membership.
Robux allows players to buy various items, and are obtained by
purchase with real currency, from a recurring stipend given to
members with a Premium membership, and from other players by
producing and selling virtual content in Roblox. Prior to
2016, Roblox had another currency, Tix (short for "Tickets"), that
was discontinued in April of that year. Robux acquired through the
sale of user-generated content can be exchanged into real-world
currency through the website's Developer Exchange system. There
are a sizable amount of scams relating to Robux, largely revolving
around automated messages promoting scam websites, scam
games designed to appear to give out free Robux, and invalid
Robux codes.