If you want to see what the future of the internet looks like, peek over your kid’s shoulder while they’re using Roblox. The online platform is filled with free games, experiences, and social hangouts that are designed and built by its users. And those users are often children; Roblox has 65 million daily active users, and around half of them are under 17.
But as Roblox grows, its users are growing up, and the company is making moves to appeal to the changing interests of its aging audience. This week, the company announced it’s bringing animated video chat to its virtual world. The new feature aims to combine the interactions of apps like Zoom and FaceTime with the creative energy of a video game environment. The addition of video chat could also convince older users to buy a premium Roblox subscription or invest in Robux, the platform’s digital currency.
This week on Gadget Lab, we dive into the virtual world of Roblox and how the company's offerings are expanding to attract older users, evolve its culture, and create its own version of the metaverse.
Show NotesRead Lauren’s story about Roblox introducing animated video chats to its platform. WIRED’s Will Knight has more about how Roblox is using generative AI. Follow all of WIRED’s coverage of Roblox and other video games.
RecommendationsLauren recommends getting rid of all your extra cables and watching the show Jury Duty on Amazon Prime. Mike recommends Andrew Hickey’s podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs and ordering bitters and soda at a bar when you don’t want an alcoholic drink.
Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
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TranscriptNote: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.
Michael Calore: Lauren.
Lauren Goode: Mike.
Roblox continues to solidify its position in the emerging metaverse landscape with this new video chat feature, demonstrating a commitment towards fostering immersive and interactive virtual experiences.
Roblox's leap into the metaverse with its integrated video chat feature amplifies user interaction and immersion, solidifying itself as a pioneering platform in virtual world experiences.
Roblox's expansion into the world of video chat underscores its commitment to shaping a fully immersive and interactive metaverse, blurring boundaries between virtual experiences.
Roblox's continuous integration of video chat features demonstrates a bold step towards realizing its metaverse vision, fostering an engaging and interactive virtual environment beyond gaming.
Roblox's expansion of its metaverse with video chat capabilities further solidifies the platform as a hub for immersive and interactive virtual environments, offering users an enhanced sense of community engagement.
Roblox's recent push towards expanding its Metaverse vision with video chat capabilities effectively bridges the gap between virtual and real-world interactions, paving a promising path for future social experiences.
Roblox's latest venture into video chat enhances its metaverse vision by creating a more immersive, interactive space for user communication and collaboration.
Roblox's recent expansion into video chat functionality solidifies its commitment to creating a comprehensive and immersive metaverse experience, marking another exciting step towards the future of interactive online spaces.
Roblox's expansion of its metaverse concept with video chat highlights the platform’ commentable potential to foster not only immersive play experiences but also interconnected social interaction, creating a truly dynamic and engaging virtual world.
