- "Powering Imagination."
- ―Official tagline
Roblox is a free-to-play social and gaming platform developed and published by the Roblox Corporation in 2006. Roblox provides a massive catalog of community-made experiences supported by the game's own engine and development software, Roblox Studio. As a community-driven digital platform, it allows many communities to develop and share their interests. Roblox also does various events to put a spotlight on selected experiences, some of which were in collaboration with Star Wars.
Gameplay[]
The discover webpage on Roblox.
Roblox is a free-to-play social and gaming platform. With the many community-made experiences listed in its catalog, Roblox has an expansive genre and gameplay throughout the platform.[2] While experiences can be designed freely, a stable internet connection is needed to access the platform and experiences in it.[16] With the emphasis on being community-driven, Roblox also compensate the creators providing content on its platform.[17]
While Roblox is a free platform, various experiences and cosmetic items are only accessible through microtransaction. The platform has a digital currency, Robux, which can be purchased directly with real money.[2] Outside of direct purchases, Robux can also be obtained through a monthly subscription service Roblox Premium which offers multiple tiers of prices, rewarding players a different amount of Robux.[18]
Star Wars content[]
An unreleased cross-promotional event centered around LEGO Star Wars The Clone Wars was planned to be the first collaboration between Roblox and Star Wars. Portfolio images from staff who worked on the event showed two rigged models of Darth Vader and a Phase I clone trooper equipped with a rangefinder. However, the Darth Vader model was wearing an incorrect torso piece, using the torso piece of a TIE pilot instead.[19] Along with it, two pairs of 3D meshes and textures from the canceled event made their way to Roblox Studio. The assets found were two LEGO gears, a blaster and a blue lightsaber.[20]
Star Wars Rebels advertisements were shown throughout the Roblox website.
With the upcoming premiere of the 2014 Disney XD animated television series Star Wars Rebels, Roblox released four promotional cosmetic items themed around the animated series to the Marketplace. The first cosmetic item was a Chopper gear that would act like a pet;[21] while the other three items were hats, such as Sabine Wren's helmet,[22] Darth Vader's mask,[23] and a vandalized stormtrooper helmet. All items were obtainable for a limited time in the Marketplace and through special sponsored advertisements.[24]
During the Space Battle collaboration event, multiple cosmetic items based on the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi were added to Roblox. The Skywalker lightsaber gear, porg gear, and BB-8 gear were added as rewards for the special missions in each of the participating experiences. Players who completed all special missions were given a grand prize, the R2-D2 gear. Along with themed event prizes, the BB-9E gear and Kylo Ren's lightsaber gear were obtainable for free in the Marketplace for the remaining duration of the Space Battle event.[25]
In-game prizes during the Battle Arena event.
Roblox later added several limited cosmetic items themed and branded around the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story for the Battle Arena collaborative event. The Chewbacca shirt, Solo-branded backpack, and Sabacc gear were the three event prizes obtainable by completing special missions in each of the participating experiences. Accounts who completed all event missions were granted eligibility to receive a grand prize, the Millennium Falcon gear. In the Marketplace, the Solo-branded cap, t-shirt, and Han Solo's dice were published for free throughout the event.[26]
During the Galactic Speedway Creator Challenge collaboration event, more cosmetic items based on the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker were added. By participating in the event, players could obtain exclusive items, such as the BB-8 gear, First Order stormtrooper helmet, Rey's staff, TROS-branded cap, D-O gear, and Hyperspace Jetpack, by completing six quizzes released throughout the event. Each quiz tested players' knowledge about game development techniques using Roblox Studio, though players were given retries if mistakes were made. In the Marketplace, Kylo Ren's reconstructed helmet was added for free and remained obtainable until the end of the event.[27]
Development[]
- "It's fun to be part of something as it grows, and you can reminisce about all the things that happened and how far we've come. On the other hand, ROBLOX keeps changing and growing."
- ―Erik Cassel
Early build of the DynaBlocks website during its beta testing.
The development of Roblox started in 2004 by the Roblox Corporation, with a beta test releasing in the same year.[29] The game was written by the two cofounders David Baszucki and Erik Cassel,[30] who had worked together before on the general-purpose physics simulation called Interactive Physics in 1989.[31][32] However, the game was referred to as DynaBlocks and GoBlocks early in beta,[33] before changing it its name to Roblox by the next year.[29] In 2006, two years after its initial beta release; Roblox got a full release[2] on Microsoft Windows.[13] It was first developed using the G3D engine.[11] However, around 2009,[34] Roblox switched its original rendering engine to the open-source engine OGRE instead.[11] On March 28, 2014, Roblox replaced OGRE in favor of their engine due to limitation on low-end devices.[34]
Following the release on Microsoft Windows,[3] Mac OS would later got an official support to run Roblox in June 2011.[4] In an attempt to widen its community and playerbase,[35] Roblox got a full release for iOS devices through the App Store on December 11, 2012.[5] The game would also eventually come to Android devices through the Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore, which released on June 16 and October 30, 2014, respectively.[6][14] On January 27, 2016, Roblox officially released on the Xbox One, which was later brought over to the Xbox Series X/S during its launch day[7] on November 10, 2020.[8] On July 27, 2023, Roblox became available as open beta on the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.[9] A few months later, on October 10, Roblox got released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.[10]
The game had initially received an age rating of "Everyone 10+" by the ESRB; however, in September 2022, it was changed to "Teen" because of the wide range of content being provided.[12] Along with the age rating change to the platform, Roblox also planned to implement an age rating system for individual experiences,[36] which was then added on June 30, 2023.[37] The age rating system allowed developers to create experiences catered for a specific age category, such as "All Ages," "9+," "13+," and "17+," on Roblox. However, the latter was only accessible by providing a selfie and government-issued identification for verification to protect minors.[38]
Modeled rigs from the canceled LEGO Star Wars The Clone Wars event.
At some point, a cross-promotional event between Roblox and LEGO Star Wars The Clone Wars was planned. While no announcements were made, a portfolio from a Roblox staff revealed that it was developed around the same time as another cross-promotional LEGO event, LEGO Hero Factory: Breakout,[19][39] which came out in August 2012.[40] Starting on September 18, 2014, the first cross-promotional cosmetic item between Roblox and Star Wars Rebels was added.[41] A week before the first season premiere of the animated series, another Rebels-themed cosmetic items was added to the Marketplace;[42] with two more releasing on the exact premiere date, October 13.[43][44] Alongside the addition of limited cosmetic items, promotional advertisements for the animated series were added throughout the official website.[45]
Sponsored by the upcoming release of the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Roblox held a limited event called Roblox Universe. Three community-made experiences on the platform were picked to represent the event; Phantom Forces, Galaxy, and Skybound 2,[46] which were developed by StyLiS Studios,[47] Rcouret,[48] and Imaginaerum, respectively.[49] The event started on December 8 and later ended on December 19, 2016.[47] The next year, Roblox held another event, Space Battle, which was sponsored by Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. Field of Battle, Red VS Blue VS Green VS Yellow!, and Epic Minigames were picked to represent the event.[50] The three community-made experiences were developed by Rcouret,[51] GPR3,[52] and TypicalType, respectively.[53] The event lasted from November 30 until December 17,[50] and participants who were eligible for the grand prize got rewarded on December 19, 2017.[25]
Exclusive rewards from the Galactic Speedway Creator Challenge event.
Solo: A Star Wars Story later sponsored the Roblox event, Battle Arena, which started on May 15 in that same year. Another three community-made experiences were picked to represent the event; Ultimate Boxing, Elemental Battlegrounds, and Giant Survival 2!;[54] which were developed by Nexus Development,[55] Gamer Robot,[56] and BuildIntoGames, respectively.[57] The event ended on May 29, with eligible players receiving their grand prize on June 1, 2018.[26] On November 19, 2019, another Star Wars collaboration event, the Galactic Speedway Creator Challenge, started. It was made as part of the Roblox Creator Challenge and a tie-in promotion for the release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. The sponsored event lasted until January 6, 2020, though the experience was still accessible to players past the initial end date.[58]
Sources[]
ROBLOX Universe on Roblox's official website (content now obsolete; screenshot)- Space Battle on Roblox's official website (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Battle Arena on Roblox's official website (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Rise of Skywalker Creator Challenge on Roblox's official website (content now obsolete; screenshot)
Star Wars and Roblox Join Forces for the Galactic Speedway Creator Challenge on StarWars.com (backup link)
