Roblox, a popular gaming company that develops own titles and also runs a community with millions of gamers designing and putting up mostly free to play games, is now planning to go public, and has already submitted a draft registration statement on a confidential basis to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for a proposed public offering of its common stock.
It’s not clear how many Class A common stock shares will be offered, or at what price. However, the company was valued at about $4 billion during its Series G funding round earlier this year, so it’s fair to assume that the company will be aiming for a multi billion dollar valuation, once it clears the SEC review process.
Roblox has always been a little different than most game makers, especially with its monetization policy. The company operates a platform for both consumers and developers, and pushes games that are less graphic intensive, allowing gamers to play on any device. It also operates a platform for developers, much like the Unreal Engine, allowing them to develop games for free. Thus, Roblox was able to survive a market as competitive as gaming, due to its ‘welcoming’ nature.
Over the years, it has launched some pretty popular titles, including ‘Adopt Me!’, ‘Jailbreak’, ”Meep City’, ‘Piggy’ and many more. The company’s games have been heavily focused on multiplayer, allowing Roblox to reach tens of millions of users.
The news is a welcome for the gaming fraternity in general. This comes just a few weeks after another gaming giant, Unity, decided to file for an IPO, aiming for a valuation of $13.7 billion. The company has managed to sell 25 million shares at 52 dollars per share and is set to begin trading today under its hugely popular ‘U’ logo.
