Roblox announced new game development tools. Its stock rose 13%.
Roblox shares rose following the announcement of a game-creation tool / Photo: Shutterstock.com / Primakov
Shares of the video game platform Roblox rose 12.7% at the close of trading on September 14—after the company unveiled new tools for developers and features for players at its conference on September 11. Specifically, users will now be able to create games even without prior experience, and developers will be able to release projects as standalone apps for mobile devices, PCs, and consoles.
One of the new tools will be Roblox Build. It will allow users to create projects simply by describing what they want to play, according to Bloomberg. The company says the new feature is a full-fledged AI-powered system. Users can also quickly view analytics and add monetization features, and in the future, they will be able to run ads for their games. A tool for creating video game cutscenes will also be released later this year.
“We believe we’ve finally reached the point where anyone can create a 2D game, a 3D game, a puzzle—whatever interests them—in our mobile app,” said Roblox CEO David Bazuiki in an interview with Bloomberg TV. According to him, the upcoming release of the new Grand Theft Auto game from Take-Two Interactive could attract more people to gaming and game creation. “We’ll see more and more content on the platform, not only for younger players but also for a more mature audience,” added the Roblox CEO.
In addition, Roblox will allow players to launch games through a web browser without having to install them. Users will also be able to continue playing without an internet connection and chat with friends between games.
What about the stocks?
Despite Monday’s gain, Roblox shares have remained under pressure since the start of the year: they have lost 36.7% since January. Following the release of its third-quarter results on July 31, the company’s stock fell by approximately 30%. Roblox attributed the weak performance to a decline in monetization among young users in the U.S. and Canada, as well as changes to the content recommendation algorithm, which negatively impacted the platform’s metrics.
According to MarketWatch, 18 analysts recommend buying Roblox stock, another 18 advise holding it, and two recommend selling it. The average price target is $48.7, which is 5% below the closing price of $51.3 on September 14.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
