Roblox CEO says the company has 2M+ DAUs in Russia, as rivals EA, Nintendo, Take-Two, Epic, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Sony slowed or ceased sales in the country
Roblox Corp.'s popularity in Russia is increasing even as almost every other publicly traded gaming company has retreated from the country after its invasion of Ukraine.
BloombergCecilia D'Anastasio
Context & Ripple Effects
Roblox reported more than 2 million daily active users in Russia while EA, Nintendo, Take-Two, Epic, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony had slowed or stopped sales there. The split makes Roblox’s local user base notable as a measure of continued access rather than a direct comparison of game sales.
Roblox retains a sizable active audience in Russia as major game publishers reduce their commercial presence there.
EA, Nintendo, Take-Two, Epic, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony surrender some immediate visibility and sales availability in a market where Roblox remains in use.
Second-order effects
Roblox’s Russian audience gives creators and virtual-goods sellers on its platform a continuing distribution channel while competing publishers’ sales are curtailed.
The later restoration of access after compliance with local requirements makes legal and operational accommodation a more consequential differentiator for platforms serving Russian users.
Third-order effects
If the pattern persists, cross-border game platforms will compete not only on content and distribution but on their ability to meet country-specific operating rules when traditional publishers exit.
Russia’s treatment of Roblox points toward market access being governed increasingly by platform compliance decisions, rather than solely by publishers’ choices to sell games.
The trend: Gaming distribution is fragmenting between publishers that withdraw from politically sensitive markets and platforms that maintain access by navigating local requirements.
@Techmeme @cecianasta And all it took was a little treason, or at least, not going with the economic sanctions that almost everyone else has enforced. But hey, accounts are accounts, right?
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