Tell us about your article reading experience.
- No
- Sort of
- Yes
Roblox was officially founded in 2004 by software engineers David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, and the platform was released to the public on September 1, 2006, but its true origins go a little further than that.
Let's dig a little deeper into Roblox's extensive history and see how it grew to become the gigantic platform that it is today.
Pre-Roblox (1989 - 2004)
In 1989, one of the founders, David Baszucki, started a company known as Knowledge Revolution. The company would go on to create Interactive Physics, which was a 2D physics engine that students would use to experiment with all kinds of scenarios.
This software would lay the foundation of what Roblox is today, but before that, they'd first start working with prototypes under different names.
So Who Created Roblox?
After Baszucki left Knowledge Revolution, he and Erik Cassel started building what was then known as eBlocks, which is the original name of Roblox.
Over the next few years, they'd also consider the names "GoBlocks" and "DynaBlocks" (in that order) before eventually settling on Roblox. By the end of 2004, they already had a website registered.
Roblox Beta (2004 - 2006)
By 2004, they would then launch the website for Roblox, though it wasn't publicly available until around 2005. Once the Roblox Beta released, there would be relatively basic games like "Bridge It!" and "Block It!" that aren't accessible anymore.
They would continue developing Roblox until it was ready for release in late 2006. By then, it would already have some basic social features and multiplayer games.
The Early Days of Roblox
By 2006, the platform already had a plethora of games made by both the staff and community. There were custom Places, iconic titles like Brick Battle, and many more other classics.
During the early days, there was also a Points system. You could earn these by simply playing games or making your own minigames. This predated the Robux currency, and rather than being used for buying stuff on the platform, it was more of an achievement system purely for flexing.
Robux and Tix (2007 - 2009)
In 2007, Roblox began introducing multiple currencies and a membership system known as the Builders Club. These would mark the beginning of the platform's monetization systems, which would be a key feature for years to come.
What Were Tickets? (Tix)
By around 2007, Roblox also introduced a new Tickets currency, or Tix for short. It was used for various things, but it was mainly for buying stuff on the Marketplace.
You could earn these by just logging in to the platform every day. You would also get 1 Tix for each visit to your Place, or you'd get 10 if it's exclusive to Builders Club members (more on this later).
Much like today, you could also earn Tix by selling clothes on the Marketplace. Finally, you could also exchange Robux for more Tix, speaking of which...
Introducing Robux
In mid-2007, Robux replaced Points and became one of the main currencies of the platform. It was a premium currency unlike Tix, which you could earn for free.
Back then, Robux was mainly used for avatar customization. From 2008 onwards, Robux could then be used for advertising games or customizing your Place. You could also exchange Robux for Tix during this era.
The Builders Club
Another significant feature that popped up in 2007 was the Builders Club. It was the original "Premium" system of Roblox. Back then, you could subscribe to the Builders Club and earn a daily stipend of Robux.
This also gave you access to special cosmetics, badges, and all sorts of other exclusive features. Here's a very brief summary of the most significant benefits of the different tiers when they were added in 2009:
Perks | Regular BC | Turbo BC | Outrageous BC |
|---|---|---|---|
Price | $5.95/Month | $11.95/Month | $19.95/Month |
Daily Robux | 10 | 25 | 100 |
Gear | Egg Basket | Egg Basket, Bloxilicious Bubble Gum | Egg Basket, Bloxilicious Bubble Gum, The Midas Glove |
Hats | Builders Club Hard Hat | Turbo BC Hard Hat | Outrageous BC Hard Hat, Eyes of the Everworld, Outrageous Aetherspectacles, Hood of the International Order of Buildmasters |
Places Limit | 10 | 25 | 100 |
Groups Limit | 10 | 20 | 100 |
Some of these items, particularly the Outrageous Builders Club hats, are now limited items that you can only acquire through trading.
Growth & Multiplatform Support (2009 - 2015)
In 2009 to the early 2010s, Roblox would start exponentially growing in popularity, eventually becoming one of the most popular online platforms among the youth.
In August 2011, the very first Roblox convention was held. ROBLOX Rally 2011 was a con where players could ask the platform's staff any questions about Roblox's future. Several awards were also granted to users who created noteworthy experiences.
Mobile Support & DevEX
iOS Support (2012)
In December 2012, Roblox finally became available on iOS for the first time ever. This mobile beta already had working monetization tied to iTunes, so players could purchase Robux and subscribe to the Builders Club through their Apple devices.
DevEX Released (2013)
The Developer Exchange program was released in late 2013, and it allowed users to exchange the Robux they earned with real money. "Earning" in this case means selling UGC items/clothes or selling game passes from your experiences.
The requirements to be eligible for the program varied over the years, but what remains consistent is that it requires a large amount of Robux on your account (tens of thousands).
To this day, this is what allows users to earn money from their games or other UGCs, though with vastly different requirements and restrictions nowadays.
Android Support (2014)
In 2014, the Android version would then be released on the Google Play Store. Similar to the Apple version, you could purchase Robux and Builders Club membership with gift cards and other payment methods supported by the platform.
Initial Console Support (2016-2017)
While Roblox would not be fully supported in consoles for a few more years, there was a version of the platform released for the Xbox One in January 2016
This was a stripped down version of Roblox with only 15 games available due to technological limitations at the time. This would remain true for at least another year.
In late 2017, an update finally allowed for cross-platform support, which allowed essentially any game that supported a controller to be playable on Xbox consoles.
Continued Growth & High-Profile Takedowns (2018 - 2019)
Throughout 2018 to 2019, the platform continued its massive growth in both userbase and catalogue of user-made games. Unfortunately, this also led to a lot of fanmade projects getting taken down for copying large IPs, such as Pokemon and various anime/manga titles.
Over time, popular games like Pokemon Brick Bronze and Shinobi Life (rebranded as Shindo Life) would get taken down due to copyright infringement.
Nowadays, fanmade games are still prevalent, but they mostly stay alive by only barely changing names around. Iconic games like Blox Fruits wouldn't be around if creators didn't take such precautions.
What Replaced Builders Club?
In 2019, Builders Club was replaced by the Roblox Premium system that would stay for a few years. This new subscription system would give users a monthly stipend of Robux and various other special perks.
Eventually, this would then be replaced by Roblox Plus, which added new features like Robux transfers and free private servers.
The Pandemic & Present (2020 - Now)
Eventually, the platform would grow at an absurd rate throughout the COVID pandemic. The Roblox Corporation would then go public, and they continued to improve the platform over the next few years.
Nowadays, Roblox has improved parental controls, stricter age restrictions, and more. It was also released for the recent generations of PlayStation consoles, including the PS5.