For years, Roblox creators have thrived in various genres such as roleplay, battlegrounds, and platformers, with horror seeing significant growth recently. We analyzed the search behavior of both our new users and our 77.7 million daily active users to identify promising areas with unmet demand.
Our user interest data reveals significant opportunities for creators to tap into growing niches on Roblox, such as open-world adventures, social cooperation competitions, driving simulations, racing games, and arcade-style sports. Additionally, our research pinpointed methods for creators to boost their experiences' success, such as localizing content for specific regions or creating sports games tailored to particular teams.
When discussing roleplaying games on Roblox, the term represents a distinct genre that evolved from our investment in real-time co-experience and life simulations. Supported by our community's exceptional creativity, this has led to highly social and emergent gameplay genres on our platform. Games like Welcome to Bloxburg, Work at a Pizza Place, and Adopt Me! are prime examples of this trend. We aim to help our creators thrive by identifying emerging genres that show promise. Creators who pioneer the next big genre can build new communities and achieve greater commercial success.
Historically, Roblox creators have been at the forefront of innovation, shaping the genres we are known for, including roleplay, battlegrounds, and horror. Notable examples are Brookhaven, with over 50 billion visits, team-based BedWars, with 9 billion visits, and the horror sensation DOORS, which has accumulated more than 5 billion visits in just over two years.
We recently conducted research to uncover the next successful genres on Roblox. By examining the search activity of our daily users, we identified untapped areas of demand in:
Open-World Action
Imagine players navigating expansive environments and completing missions in cities. Our users searched 14 million times for related terms in Q1 2024, indicating substantial interest. Games like Apocalypse Rising 2, featuring questing and combat in open worlds, demonstrate this genre's potential on Roblox, enhanced by our platform's social aspect.
Sports
Sports fans can engage in simulated or arcade-style competitions, from basketball to soccer. With 13.5 million searches in Q1 2024, there is evident demand for soccer, American football, and basketball games, among others. Localized experiences, like Brazil-themed sports worlds, also show great potential, proven by the success of events like Copa Roblox.
Driving Simulation and Racing
Fast-paced driving or racing simulations attract players eager to compete in various vehicles. This genre received nearly 12.5 million searches in Q1 2024. There is a significant interest in racing, stunts, and driving tricks, as well as local simulations such as Japanese train stations, merging simulation with roleplay.
Social Co-opetition
This genre involves collaborative efforts to solve tasks or create designs, often allowing users to vote on each other's creations. With 7.5 million searches related to terms like bingo and board games in Q1 2024, the demand for such experiences is clear.
How We Identify High-Demand Genres:
Roblox connects users with content they'll love and creators with their audience. We highlight the most promising genres by:
- Uncovering hidden demand: Users searching for specific experiences indicate a genre's potential.
- Off-platform interests: Successful genres elsewhere could thrive on Roblox.
- Existing growth: Sustained interest in genres like horror and roleplay suggests ongoing opportunities.
- Pop culture trends: Events and phenomena in popular culture can drive new experiences.
Three Research-Based Tips for Finding an Audience:
- Grow Community: Enhance user engagement through tools like Guilded and in-game content sharing.
- Iterative Development: Listen to user feedback, monitor analytics, and continuously update experiences.
- Stream- and Meme-Worthy Content: Create moments that generate buzz on social media and attract influencers.
Our commitment to supporting creators remains strong. As four of our top 10 experiences emerged in the past year, we recognize the value of ongoing insights to help creators innovate and succeed.