What is Roblox?
Roblox is a global platform where millions of people gather together every day to imagine, create, and share experiences in immersive, user-generated 3D worlds. The types of experiences you can find on Roblox are just as limitless as the imagination of the creators themselves.
Every experience and most avatar items on Roblox are created by our global community.
How do you become a developer on Roblox?
Anyone can access our creator tools free of charge at https://www.roblox.com/create.
For anyone who’s interested in learning how to start developing on Roblox, we provide tools and resources on the Documentation site. You can also find tutorials and other fun challenges on our Roblox Education site. Some people also get started creating on Roblox via their school or a coding camp, and they can help you find the right starting point for your skills.
What are the benefits of becoming a developer on Roblox?
We want people to come to Roblox to learn, create, and have fun. Lots of developers on Roblox start out as hobbyists; they do it because they enjoy making virtual experiences they can share with their friends and family. They also learn important skills along the way, such as problem solving, teamwork, and coding. In fact, developing on Roblox has helped many people build their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills. These are skills that will serve them throughout their lives, opening a pathway to careers in game development, web and software engineering, 3D design, and many other technical industries.
Can you make money from Roblox?
Creating on Roblox is intended to be a fun, rewarding experience and an opportunity to learn life skills such as creative thinking and entrepreneurship. While it is true that there are lots of artists and developers who have been able to build a career from the experiences and items they’ve made on Roblox, most successful creators spend years honing their skills as a hobbyist before making the transition to a professional role as they get older. It takes a lot of skill and a lot of practice to make a great experience or item on Roblox!
For this reason, it is important to have honest conversations with your kids and teens as they embark on their journey as a developer on Roblox. Talk to them to understand their motivation to build and then set appropriate expectations. Becoming a Roblox developer can be fun—and it’s a great way to express their creativity—but under no circumstances should they use the platform expecting to see financial gain. The most important ingredient for success on Roblox is not a desire to earn money, but a love of building and creating.
How do successful developers make money from Roblox?
Roblox users can buy virtual goods to enhance their experience using a virtual currency called Robux. These items might include clothing and/or accessories for their avatar or special perks they can use within a particular experience. When a user purchases an item in this way, the creator of that item earns a portion of the sale in Robux. If a user buys an item while they are in a particular experience, the developer of that experience also earns a portion of the sale in Robux.
Once a developer earns enough Robux, they can convert that amount into real money via our Developer Exchange program (also known as DevEx).
Who can join the Developer Exchange (DevEx) program?
There are certain conditions to being part of the DevEx program:
- You must have a minimum of 50,000 earned Robux in your account (please review section 3.B.of the DevEx Terms of Use for more information regarding what qualifies as earned Robux).
- You must provide a verified email address.
- You must have a valid DevEx portal account (first time DevEx participants will be invited to create a DevEx portal account after the DevEx request form has been submitted).
- You must be 13 years of age or older.
- You must be a Roblox community member in good standing and in compliance with Roblox’s Terms of Use.
Are there other ways to create on Roblox besides building experiences?
Yes, some people have the ability to create items or assets for the Roblox Avatar Shop, known as UGC (user-generated content) items. This route is more suited to experienced creators, but it could be of interest to those who have been using our tools for some time. There is an application process in order to be granted the ability to create UGC items on Roblox. For more information on the application process, go here.
My child has been approached by someone to develop an experience on Roblox as part of a team. What should I do?
Many experiences on Roblox are created by groups of people working together (sometimes referred to as “studios”). People with different skill sets (e.g., programmers, designers, graphic artists, and more) will collaborate to create larger and more elaborate projects. If your child is given an opportunity to join a development team, there are a number of things to consider to determine whether such a project is right for them:
- Whether you are comfortable with your child working with others on this project
- Whether your child is old enough to legally earn money from employment
- Who your child would be collaborating with
- The terms of any legal agreement, such as the Roblox Terms of Use, Community Standards, and developer-to-developer agreements
- The tools your child would be using in order to collaborate with others
- The economics of being part of a team
- Ongoing support your child may need
Who your child would be collaborating with
Connecting with people you don’t know in real life can always carry some risk, so make sure your child feels comfortable coming to you if anything makes them feel sad, upset, or unsafe. Would they recognize if someone online didn’t appear genuine? Here are a few simple precautions they should take before deciding to work with a fellow creator on Roblox.
- Ask the other person for their Roblox username, their profile, and some examples of other things they’ve worked on.
- If in doubt, don’t share any personal information.
- If anyone takes the conversation away from the project you’re discussing, asks for money, or wants to meet in person, talk to a trusted adult. These could be red flags.
Developers 13 and over can be ID-verified. You will see a shield icon in Roblox Studio next to the usernames of any creators who have verified their identity with Roblox, reassuring you they are who they say they are. This tool also helps to boost creations from real developers.
Identity verification is a quick and simple process. You can find instructions on how to get your Verified badge here.
Terms of agreement
If your young creator is planning to offer their services to other developers, we strongly recommend they make sure they get a written contract with any creator they are working with (and a parent or guardian may be required to sign that contract). Roblox cannot offer legal advice or help resolve disputes related to unpaid work or other issues relating to the development of experiences. Help your teen to research to see what the fair rate is for their services. You may want to consult with a legal specialist to get advice on your teen entering into an agreement or providing services for other developers, which may also incur additional fees.
If a creator plans to hire staff to create their experience, they need to make sure they are compliant with all applicable employment laws. Having appropriate agreements in place from the start should help avoid disputes later. Again, this is an area where you may want to consult with a legal specialist. Roblox has provided a Sample Contributor Agreement that describes some of the key terms to consider when engaging with other developers. This Sample Contributor Agreement can be found here.
Also, all experiences need to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Roblox regularly shares relevant updates on these topics via the Developer Hub to help creators stay in line with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as maintain a safe, healthy, and welcoming community; ultimately, however, it is up to the creator to ensure their experience is compliant with applicable laws and regulations as well as Roblox’s own policies and guidelines.
Tools of collaboration
Development teams will often meet on sites outside of Roblox, such as Discord or Twitter, to plan their projects. Roblox has no oversight of these conversations, so it is helpful for you and your kids and teens to understand the sites they are visiting.
Roblox hosts a platform called Talent Hub, where people searching for work or seeking employees to work on projects can find each other. Roblox also offers additional materials for anyone interested in working together to develop content.
Economics of being part of a team
It is important to research and understand the economics of creating on Roblox. You can read more about that here. There may be costs associated with developing and publishing an experience. It could be helpful to have a conversation about how a project is going to be funded on a long-term basis.
Ongoing support your child may need
Building any experience takes time and effort, so talking with your kids and teens about their online wellbeing and encouraging a healthy approach to their project is helpful. Help them set reasonable and achievable timescales for each milestone they want to meet, and make sure they are taking regular breaks and not “crunching” to get the build finished. They will benefit from a slow and steady approach, much like in many other work roles.
If they are working for other people, the same principles should apply. Help them talk with their “employer” about reasonable expectations, especially if they are also juggling school or part-time jobs, and help them recognize if they are being pushed to work unhealthy hours.
If they are employing others, they have a responsibility for the welfare of those people. They should consider how they will provide support if needed. Would they know what to do if someone was struggling emotionally or if they had disagreements that affected their working relationship?
Safety & Civility Commitment
Safety & Civility is our number one priority. Roblox provides parental control settings to limit or restrict chat. We conduct a proactive safety review of every experience, as well as all uploaded assets (including images, audio, and video files), before they’re published. And users can report any inappropriate content or behavior directly to us by using the “Report Abuse” feature throughout the platform and within every experience. We also have a set of Community Standards to help the community understand what is and what isn’t allowed on our platform.
To learn more about how we protect users of all ages, visit our Safety and Civility pages.