Due to issues with servers on May the 4th, the Roblox platform experienced problems for as long as 11 hours, reports say. The catastrophic scenario that happened on the biggest user-generated games platform in the world caused outrage among 210 million players worldwide, many of whom are children. As the official statement says, the difficulties affected the website, mobile games, and even the Xbox app.
No Prior Warning
While some players decided to lash out on the company’s Twitter account, others didn’t take the entire thing so seriously. A number of players simply decided to try other online entertainment, like the wonderful casino slot games at AmazonSlots. Many users posted funny gifs and videos, as well as memories of past incidents. One user even said that he has been on the platform only for 6 months, but experienced more than 100 situations in which Roblox was down, one way or the other.
According to the messages on Roblox social media platforms, users experienced server difficulties completely unexpected. The rumour in the gaming community has it that the servers went down, but this info was neither confirmed nor disproved by the company. Roblox’s post on Twitter simply said the company is “actively working” on solving the problem. This came as little to no condolence to gamers who have experienced not only interruptions in gaming, but also purchases. However, there should be no reason for concern as the company’s FAQ page explains that in case of any purchase interruption, all transactions and receipts shall be settled within 24 hours.
It also sparked plenty of Roblox veterans to share their memories of the server outage from November 2024. The outage lasted so long, it caused a frenzy among fans, who believed the platform was being shut down altogether. The tech team took three days to fix the issue, and many users still haven’t forgotten nor forgiven them. This time, the team acted faster, and the site was up in less than a day.
Why Is Roblox Popular?
Roblox’s chief business officer Craig Donato has stated that the company does not do a lot of marketing. Despite this, Roblox is massively popular amongst kids and the main method by which kids discover the game is when they get invited to play the game by their friends. Also, with the increasing popularity of watching YouTubers play video games, the growth of the game has been word of mouth and very much organic.
What is Roblox?
Roblox is a user-generated gaming platform established in 2005. Essentially, it allows users to create their own games, and to play titles created by other users. Despite being online for more than 15 years, it became highly popular in the late 2010s. Its biggest expansion happened in 2020, during the pandemic.
Both the platform and all games on it are completely free to play. However, users can make in-game purchases by paying with the internal virtual currency – Robux. In the summer of 2020, more than 164 million monthly active users were using Robux, with US teens and children under the age of 16 making up more than half of the users.
Despite being immensely popular, Roblox was also heavily scrutinized. One of the main objections is the exploitative practices toward children and inefficient chat moderating which exposed children to inappropriate content. Furthermore, some game features include adult situations and settings and can be accessed without any restrictions. Roblox increased its efforts in trying to filter such games and messages by creating a team of 1,600 members dedicated to removing inappropriate content.
Are There Parental Controls for Roblox?
Roblox offers parental controls to allow parents to restrict the behaviour of what access their kids have when playing the game. Some of the aspects parents can control range from what type of games the kids can play, whether kids can be contacted by others on the game and limited personal data in regards to contact settings. As an extra precaution, parents can set a PIN that stops kids from changing the settings.
Can You Make Money From Roblox?
Long story short, yes.
Gamers can become creators which essentially means you have to create something valuable in the game that others want to purchase. Most creators often create clothing items as a way to make money. The more popular your items are, the higher chance you will be able to make real money from the game.
Some of the most popular creators even have their own businesses dedicated to making money from the game. Hiring game developers, artists and testers making money from Roblox can be very lucrative.
Benefits Roblox Have On Children
Over the last two years, The Coronvirus has led to lockdowns across the world, preventing children to meet up with their friends. As Roblox is very much an online community where people can interact with each other and share a common experience it’s no surprise that the game’s popularity has increased during Covid.
Although there are potential dangers of kids playing the game, many parents have outlined the benefits Roblox has had on their children. The main one is having a sense of belonging and being a part of a wider community. If someone feels like they are going through a tough time, they can find comfort knowing that there is an online community that may be going through a similar experience. It is essentially a form of therapy.
Also, due to the nature of the game, Roblox is also a place where gamers can show their creative side and allow kids to become more creative and really express themselves. Kids can craft their own games and also craft their own stories. This can lead to kids building their own games and using their imagination to create a game that is perfect for them.
Conclusion
We’re yet to see how Roblox will prevent future outages from occurring and considering how popular the game is it’s only a matter of time before the platform goes down again.
