The upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected to shatter industry sales records when it comes out in November, looms so large for competing game developers that it has even prompted some to reschedule their own releases. But one company may benefit from the popularity of the upcoming blockbuster from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc: Roblox Inc.
“GTA VI is going to inspire a wave of homebrew spin-offs onRoblox,” Joost van Dreunen, an industry expert who teaches the economics and business of video games at NYU’s Stern School of Business. “The players who aren’t old enough to buy it will simply build it themselves.”
Coming more than a decade after the last instalment in the franchise, Grand Theft Auto VI is one of the most anticipated video games ever and likely to be one of the largest entertainment launches in history. The previous entry in the long-running crime drama series has sold more than 230 million copies. And while much of the media attention and consumer spending will be focused on the long-awaited GTA VI, Roblox is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the broader cultural phenomenon, according to industry experts.
Roblox’s young users can create their own versions of popular games, and play them for free – as was the case with games that took inspiration from hits such as Pokémon. Over the last decade, one of Roblox’s most popular game genres has involved driving cars and role-playing cops or thieves in an open world – mechanics similar to Grand Theft Auto.
Chief executive officer Dave Baszucki said Grand Theft Auto VI could inspire more people to make and play games on Roblox. “We’re going to see more and more content not just for younger players but for older players on the platform too,” he said in a Sept 14 interview with Bloomberg TV.
That could deliver a lift to Roblox, which has seen time spent on its platform drop in recent months after the company implemented measures to keep young players safe from predators. In July, the company forecast that bookings in the third quarter would decline as much as 18% as a result of recent changes such as age-verification tools.
Roblox shares are down nearly 50% this year
Nick McKay, an analyst at Freedom Capital Markets, said investors may be concerned that GTA VI will further erode the time spent on Roblox, but added that the game’s mature rating may have the opposite effect, limiting the number of younger users playing. They’ll find plenty of alternatives on Roblox, which attracts 123 million users every day.
“You’ll start to see content that attempts to look like GTA VI on Roblox to capitalise on the hype,” McKay said.
Titles on Roblox that riff off of Grand Theft Auto themes, such as Brookhaven, Jailbreak, Da Hood, Wanted and more, have been played more than 100 billion times. At any point, more than 500 million people are driving cars or committing heists in these games.
More may crop up after Nov 19, when Grand Theft Auto VI launches, drawing users onto the platform – especially as the game won’t launch with its highly anticipated online component.
Neither Roblox nor Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games responded to requests for comment.
“Roblox is a spectacular ecosystem that responds to what’s happening in the global gaming culture – even if it doesn’t originate on Roblox,” Matt Edelman, chief executive officer of Super League Enterprise Inc, a gaming-focused advertising and technology company.
Typing “Grand Theft Auto” into Roblox’s search bar returns a half-dozen results that include logos resembling the official game franchise, with similar-sounding names, such as Grand Treat Auto 5 or THE GTA 6. In one game, the player steals enough money to purchase a gun, and then a car, in preparation for robbing convenience stores and banks.
Although Roblox games may lack the sophisticated images and deep gameplay of their inspiration, these lookalikes are free, compared with the US$80 (RM326.54) price tag for Grand Theft Auto VI, and available to users younger than 17, which represent the bulk of Roblox’s audience.
That may not be such a bad thing for Take-Two, Edelman said.
“If younger audiences are being introduced to the IP inside Roblox, as they age up or ask for a holiday gift, maybe GTA will appear on that list.” – Bloomberg
