Roblox isn’t getting the high financial scores that it used to — not even close. 

The popular gaming platform has lost approximately $97.5 billion Cdn in market value over the last year, according to stock market data. The company says the decline is partly because of changes in the games its users play and growing pains as it attempts to attract older gamers — but experts say more could be at play.

“I think there’s actually a lot of things going on,” said Aaron Langille, co-ordinator of the game design and simulation program at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ont.

“I think it’s sort of a platform getting a little bit older, and maybe making some decisions that didn’t work out.”

Roblox Corporation’s stock price is down approximately 70 per cent compared to this time last year, dropping from $129.63 US ($180.67 Cdn) to $36.96 US ($51.51 Cdn). The stock fell sharply following an earnings call last week where executives reported revenue below company expectations.

If you don’t have iPad-armed kids in your life, Roblox is a gaming and creation platform where users can play games created by other users. Released in 2006, the platform has since grown to 151.5 million daily users and 3.5 million game developers, according to company data. 

Roblox offers racing games, obstacle courses, first-person shooters, platformers, board games and more. The vast majority are multiplayer, where gamers play with or against other gamers.

Roblox gamers tend to be younger. The company, which rolled out identity and age verification for users earlier this year, said in February that of the daily active users who had completed verification, 35 per cent were younger than 13 and 38 per cent were aged 13 to 17, making more than half of all active players non-adults.

CEO David Baszucki and CFO Naveen Chopra told investors last week that Roblox has fallen short of its expectations this year when it comes to getting users to spend — particularly those under 13. They said the shortcoming was partly because of changes Roblox has made in the platform’s game recommendation algorithm, but also because games that are popular now aren’t moneymakers compared to last year’s hits.

“If you just look at the percentage of hours consumed on the platform last year, that was coming from these very large and high-monetizing viral hits — it was very concentrated,” Chopra said on the call.

“Those games did appeal, in particular, to younger users.”

Concerns raised over safety

Roblox, which includes text and voice communication between users, is looking to broaden its appeal to include older gamers. The effort comes as governments, watchdogs and experts have raised concerns about safety of young users on the platform. 

The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre received more than 1,000 reports involving Roblox between 2024 and 2025, according to the Mounties. 

In February 2025, 16-year-old Penelope Sokolowski of Vancouver took her own life after online messaging with a violent cult called 764, which encourages self-harm. She first met a member of 764 on Roblox.

Public Safety Canada listed 764 as a terrorist entity last December, saying “members routinely use various social media and gaming platforms, particularly those with young and marginalized user bases, to lure, groom and extort youth to commit violent and sexual acts, including self-harm.”

Roblox reached an agreement with the state of Nevada in June to implement more stringent online safety measures for young users and to put more than $10 million US towards education and safety efforts.

Yulia Nevskaya, an assistant professor of marketing at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont,, said the platform’s complexity makes it difficult to pin down the cause of its financial downturn beyond the company’s explanations, but said safety concerns could be a factor.

“Roblox is facing a lot of scrutiny over safety, especially for children, and the company recently introduced new rules for age and account verification, which some users see as intrusive,” she said in an email. 

“That could also be leading to some user base loss and affect some game developers’ willingness to supply games. It’s very messy.”

Baszucki and Chopra also emphasized positives on the earnings call. They said changes to Roblox’s algorithm have boosted user retention.

They added that the company has seen growth in international markets like Japan and India, and that there’s increased diversity in what games users are playing — three years ago, its Top 10 games accounted for 30 per cent of all gaming hours compared to 20 per cent today.

Baszucki, Roblox’s Winnipeg-born co-founder, said improved gamer retention and growth, especially among older gamers, will eventually pay off, despite the disappointing revenue numbers.

“I’ve never been more excited about our mission, and more excited and confident in the road ahead.”

Cristiano Politowski, an assistant professor of computer science at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa Ont., said Roblox is unique among gaming companies since it has full control of the platform its games appear on, and its ability to manage its platform suggests the changes that hurt its stock price in the short-term are part of a genuine long-term strategy.

“As the kids say nowadays, they are cooking something,” Politowski said. 

“This is one step back to go two forward later.”

But, unlike its young userbase, Roblox could be starting to show its age.

“Twenty years is actually a really, really long time,” Langille said.

“I think what they’re seeing is that as their players they had along with them from the beginning are changing what they want to play, and what they think of as fun, they’re having a little bit of a harder time attracting new players.”