In kindergartens across the world, teenagers are working hard in hopes of making their favorite game – Roblox – a full-time job.
Some pocket enough to pay for their degrees, others earn more than their parents, and a growing number are on their way to becoming millionaires.
Roblox is a cross-platform game that allows people to play a wide variety of games, create their own games, or chat with others online.
It has 202 million monthly users with players from all over the world logging in.
The game has recently been criticized for a number of inappropriate games, such as ‘depression rooms’ and ‘sex interpretations’.
But for most, gambling is a safe and even profitable experience.
Usernames like Loleris and badcc might mean nothing to the older generation, but in the Roblox world these people are celebrities.
They made their fortune as teenagers developing in-game experiences that achieved widespread popularity.
Young people are now doing everything in their power to follow in his footsteps.
It’s a young, growing and bustling industry with millions of pounds at stake.
But the game’s skyrocketing popularity is still relatively unknown in the offline world and – crucially – to many parents of children.
Ammon Runger, based in the state of Washington, America, is one of those Roblox users who earn thousands throughout the year.
He hopes to turn his profits into millions one day.
Ammon started playing as a shy high school student and quickly grew in confidence and skills.
He started playing in 2015 and launched a YouTube channel two years later. Now, Roblox is essentially her full-time job, despite her tender age of 18.
Ammon told Metro.co.uk: ‘I don’t think the public really understands what Roblox is like these days and how much it has grown.
“There are literally 15-year-olds helping to run multi-million dollar game studios from their bedrooms.
‘I grew up with the game and have worked or been involved in all corners of the Roblox ecosystem, so I’ve talked about it a lot with other developers. Some teams are running around a million dollars a month, it’s crazy.’
Ammon saw his rise to success as a result of becoming involved in ‘Mad City’, one of the most popular gaming experiences on Roblox.
He became the game’s community director and also spent his time with various other users to create video content and edit footage.
Ammon speaks with a wisdom beyond his years, and the use of words like ‘customer’ demonstrates how these ‘jobs’ aren’t just teenagers pretending, they are taking their jobs seriously.
He said: ‘My parents were hesitant when I started investing time in it.
How do kids make money on Roblox?
Roblox allows users to create their own minigames known as ‘experiences’.
Similar to Minecraft, you can see games inspired by television shows or movies.
In-game experiences like the popular creations JailBreak and Mad City help draw kids to Roblox.
Millions of children around the world spend time on its games and making in-app purchases, which has led to the company’s healthy profits.
In return, those behind popular experiences can earn money on Roblox.
The company also launched a Developer Exchange program last October, in which creators turn virtual currency earned through their games — called Robux — into real money.
As early as 2017, Roblox was giving away over $30 million to young developers on its platform.
’ But when I started making thousands of dollars playing Roblox, they were much more open to me pursuing it.
‘I know not to put my eggs in one basket, with the internet in general things can be built and taken down so easily.
“We don’t know what YouTube or Roblox will look like in 20, 40 years or if people will still watch the games. This is all still relatively new, so it’s hard to predict.’
Roblox is aware of its young workforce and says everything is being done to support them.
It can take ‘years’ to hone profitable skills, but anyone can get started.
A Roblox spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘At its core, Roblox is all about supporting creation and self-expression – today there are over 32 million virtual experiences on the platform, built by a growing global community of creators and developers.
‘Anyone can start building on Roblox right away, for free, with no upfront costs and no coding experience required.
‘And while not everyone can turn a hobby into a source of income, and those that do often take years to hone their skills, we are incredibly proud of the growing number of developers who started out on the platform as hobbyists and have been able to do so successfully. who are now running their own development studios.
‘Today, more and more people and professional studios are able to find success doing what they love on Roblox – bringing their creative visions to life.’
Many young people are inspired by the YouTubers or creators they watch online and diligently follow all their results.
But when trying to re-enact its success, many kids and teens become disheartened as they struggle to grow the same audience.
Amon emphasized that patience is key.
The 18-year-old continued: ‘I started out as just a fan of all these youtubers you see everywhere, like I was just an ordinary viewer.
‘I was just one more person in the huge bucket – one view among hundreds of thousands of videos of all these people.
‘But I’ve really worked with and made connections with all these creators – it’s possible for anyone to do this consistently.
‘If you’re on YouTube, you might not have zero to a million subscribers. It might not even be zero to 100,000 subscribers, but you’ll see something.
‘As long as you have a computer and have the ability to learn, anyone can start something like this. And that’s why it’s so prevalent and why so many people are doing it.
‘If you learn to program and code you’ll never know, you can make a game that blows up and the next thing you know you’ll be running a multi-million dollar game studio for Roblox. It’s a pretty cool vertical.’
To learn more about Ammon’s journey through Roblox, click here
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