Roblox, originally a gaming platform and creation service, has transformed into a bustling virtual community. At the annual developer conference, RDC 2023, the company unveiled several exciting updates geared towards enhancing user content creation.
In a recent blog post, Roblox disclosed that by the end of June 2023, a staggering 65.5 million users engaged with Roblox games daily, averaging 2.3 hours of playtime. The big reveal of the day was the forthcoming mobile app, “Roblox Connect,” enabling users to interact in the real world while embodying their Roblox avatars.
The company described the experience as follows: “Launching later this year, Connect will enable people to call a friend from their Roblox friends list using their real name and facial expressions—conveying nuance with their own body language—and be transported to a shared immersive space on Roblox for their conversation, sitting together by a campfire or standing beside a waterfall. Behind the scenes, we’re essentially packaging a Hollywood-style motion capture studio into something that runs on a mobile phone or laptop—without the need for equipment or motion-tracking dots. The device’s camera is all that’s needed to capture motion and translate it in real time.”
Roblox emphasized that the app was created using public platform APIs and will become open-source software upon launch, allowing for future expansion by the community.
Additionally, Roblox is streamlining content creation with a novel feature that enables users to craft avatars swiftly by simply using an image and typing a few text prompts, reducing the avatar creation process from days to mere minutes.
In terms of accessibility, Roblox will soon be available on Meta Quest virtual reality headsets in September, with significant improvements planned for the Xbox app version, promising a new look, regular updates, enhanced content recommendations, and an improved user experience.
Excitingly, Roblox will be integrated into Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles in October, potentially introducing a massive new audience to the platform.