Roblox

Roblox was founded in 1989, marking the beginning of the popular online gaming platform.

The 'oof' sound effect on Roblox originated from a sound created by Joey Kuras for the video game Messiah in 2000. This sound became synonymous with character deaths on the platform and gained significant popularity as a meme.

On December 2, 2003, Roblox underwent its first name change to GoBlocks.com.

On December 12, 2003, Roblox underwent its second name change to DynaBlocks.com.

Roblox was founded in 2004 as a gaming platform and game creation system that allows users to design their own games and play a wide variety of different games created by other users.

Roblox was officially launched on September 1, 2006, marking the beginning of its availability to the public.

In March 2007, Roblox became compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by introducing safe chat, which restricted communication for users under 13 to predefined messages.

The first currency in Roblox was initially known as Roblox points but was later renamed to Robux in May 2007.

In 2008, a contest organized by Builderman where participants competed in designing unique places within Roblox.

Roblox experienced significant growth in the second half of 2010, further accelerated during the Covid pandemic, overcoming initial challenges.

Roblox held its inaugural Hack Week in December 2011, an annual event where developers brainstorm and work on innovative ideas for the platform.

On December 11, 2012, Roblox launched its iOS version, expanding its accessibility to mobile users.

Roblox implemented the Developer Exchange program on October 1, 2013, enabling developers to convert their Robux earnings from games into real-world currencies.

On July 16, 2014, Roblox released its Android version.

On May 31, 2015, Roblox added the 'Smooth Terrain' feature, enhancing the graphical quality of the terrain and updating the physics engine.

On November 20, 2015, Roblox was launched on Xbox One with an initial selection of 15 games curated by Roblox staff.

On March 15, 2016, Roblox discounted tickets and launched new items that could be purchased with tickets.

On April 14, 2016, Roblox removed the feature of tickets from its platform. Tickets were a virtual currency used within the game for various purposes.

In January 2017, Jazwares collaborated with Roblox Corporation to create toy minifigures based on user-generated content from the platform. These minifigures were larger than Lego minifigures and had interchangeable limbs and accessories.

In March 2017, Roblox secured a substantial investment and unveiled a new logo design, marking a significant milestone for the company.

By September 2018, Roblox Corporation hired Dan Williams to transition the platform from third-party cloud services to a proprietary infrastructure.

In November 2018, Roblox completely removed the ability for players to play as a 'guest' without an account.

In August 2019, users and co-founder of Roblox expressed solidarity with the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement. An investigation by NBC News uncovered over 100 accounts associated with far-right and neo-Nazi groups on the platform, which were subsequently removed by Roblox moderators.

In November 2019, the iOS version of Roblox achieved a significant milestone by surpassing $1 billion in lifetime revenue. This demonstrated the platform's strong financial performance and popularity among mobile users.

On December 3, 2020, Roblox was granted permission to release in China, expanding its global reach.

On April 13, 2021, Roblox teamed up with Hasbro to introduce Roblox-themed Nerf blasters and a special edition of Monopoly, further expanding the brand into physical toy products.

The debut episode of The Kardashians titled 'Burn Them All to the F*cking Ground' caused a public dispute between Kim Kardashian and Roblox. The episode featured an experience on the platform that allegedly included sensitive content, leading to accusations and denials of the incident being staged.

On June 20, 2023, Roblox started allowing games rated for players 17 and over, permitting more mature content.

On July 27, 2023, Roblox was released as a public beta for Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro, garnering over a million downloads within five days.

In March 2024, Roblox launched two new tools to accelerate 3D content creation: automatic avatar customisation and a texture generator. The avatar customisation feature transforms 3D body meshes into animated avatars, while the texture generator enables users to create object appearances using text descriptions.