Roblox posts almost $1 billion net loss in 2022
Roblox, the popular and controversial sandbox game for children, has released its 2022 financial report, posting net losses of close to $1 billion for the entire year. The company says it lost $934 million in 2022, which is a big increase compared to 2021’s $504 million loss.
These losses come in spite of an increase in revenue and bookings year-on-year. Roblox cites $2.2 billion in revenue, which is a plus of 16% compared to 2021, with bookings increasing by 5% to $2.9 billion in the same timeframe (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz).
Roblox explained the stark increase in losses with higher expenses to fund the expansion of the operation, noting that it would likely continue to post similar results in coming years after a change in how the company calculates how much of its bookings could be recognized as earnings in each quarter: “Regardless, since our investment decisions are generally based on levels of bookings, we expect to continue to report net losses for the foreseeable future even as we anticipate generating net cash from operating activities.”
Roblox will also stop reporting monthly metrics after March 2023, it announced, only making quarterly reports due to monthly numbers being “often more volatile” and driving “more short-term market reactions.”
Investors were not fazed by the net losses Roblox reported, the company’s stock shooting up in value from $36,95 to $44,54 per share after the report’s publication. The value is even slightly higher than that at the time of writing.
Roblox has millions of active daily users on its platform (58.8 million daily active users in Q4 2022, according to the report), partnering with big names like the NFL for cooperation, but has repeatedly faced controversy.
It’s been accused of exploiting child labor to provide the many games available on the platform and has consistent problems with content moderation, letting children between the ages of five and nine years participate in games with sexual contents.
It has also never answered questions regarding copyright issues on its platform when it comes to user-created content ripping off other franchises.
