What Roblox Could Look Like in 5 Years

Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) has gone through its share of highs and lows. After the pandemic's social-distancing period ended, it went through a period of slowing growth and intensifying losses, but recently, the video game platform company has regained momentum. And with its 152 million daily active users (DAUs) and strong engagement across demographics, Roblox is once again attracting some attention from investors.

But while the current conversation around the stock focuses largely on quarterly bookings and margin pressures, the more interesting question is what Roblox will look like in five years. Because what's taking shape beneath the surface is not just a gaming company, but a digital platform with multiple engines for monetization.

Here's a look at where Roblox could be by 2030.

Image source: Getty Images.

From a game platform to a digital economy

Roblox's foundation is its user-generated content business model. Players don't just consume content -- they create it. The company acts as a facilitator, taking a cut of every in-game transaction in exchange for managing the infrastructure, safety, and payments behind the scenes.

That model has clear strengths, including network effects, a near infinite content supply, and high engagement. But it's also capital intensive. Roblox invests heavily in servers, security systems, and developer compensation. So far, that has kept profitability out of reach.

Fast-forward five years, however, and this business will be significantly larger -- and perhaps fundamentally different. Three trends are converging that may shift the company's economics: immersive advertising, an older core user base, and international monetization. Together, they could transform Roblox from a fast-growing platform into a sustainable business.

Advertising becomes significant

Advertising may be the single most significant change to Roblox's model by 2030. The company has begun testing immersive ad formats -- including branded portals, billboards, and 3D experiences that live within its virtual worlds. It has also launched rewarded video ads for users 13 and older, in partnership with Google Ad Manager.

If its pivot toward ad sales works, Roblox could build one of the most distinctive ad ecosystems in digital media. Unlike traditional platforms, ads in Roblox's metaverse spaces are interactive and experience-driven, not static. Brands from Nike to Netflix have already experimented with in-world campaigns, suggesting that advertisers see value in Roblox's audience.

Even modest adoption could reshape the financial picture. For instance, if the number of daily active Roblox users continues to grow and even limited ad adoption takes hold, just $10 in annual ad revenue per user could translate to several billion dollars in sales annually. Since ad revenue tends to carry high margins, that could help propel Roblox to sustainable, long-term profitability.

A more mature audience

Roblox built its brand on catering to younger players, but the demographics of its users are gradually shifting. The number of users older than 13 has grown sharply, from 40 million in the third quarter of 2023 to more than 101 million in the third quarter of 2025. Older users not only spend more on the platform, but are more attractive to advertisers, since marketing to them involves fewer regulatory constraints.

By 2030, Roblox's community is expected to further skew toward a relatively older cohort, assuming the platform continues to attract new users and its existing young users stick around as they mature. That's not just cosmetic -- it changes the operation's economics. Older players drive higher monetization through social interactions, brand engagement, and purchases of premium experiences.

The challenge will be to keep these users interested. As players enter their late teens and 20s, they expect better graphics, more complex gameplay, and more social depth. Roblox's continued investments in aging up the platform -- from AI-driven creation tools to higher-quality content to more realistic avatars -- will help determine whether it retains these users or watches them "age out."

International markets become the growth engine

While Roblox's user base is global, its monetization thus far has remained concentrated in North America. In the third quarter, its average bookings per daily active user were $40.18 in the U.S. compared to just $5.27 in the Asia-Pacific region. That's a massive gap -- and also an enormous opportunity.

Closing it will require localization and infrastructure. Roblox will need to offer more regional payment options, provide support to creators in their native languages, and attract brands that resonate culturally with foreign audiences. The company has already made progress on that front: In Q3, it achieved remarkable year-over-year user growth of 56% in Europe, 109% in Asia, and 80% in the rest of the world.

In short, international expansion could add another layer to the growth story by 2030. Even minor improvements in its monetization of those overseas users could translate into hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in incremental bookings.

What does it mean for investors?

By 2030, Roblox could resemble a far more diversified digital economy than it is today, one that is not limited to gaming. Advertising, aging up, and global growth all suggest it could be a business with higher margins and more durable revenue.

The bull case is straightforward: Ad sales scale up, older users stay engaged, and international markets catch up in monetization. Under that scenario, Roblox could become profitable while still growing bookings at a double-digit percentage rate.

The bear case is also clear: Regulatory friction, weak ad adoption, or the need to increase developer payouts to induce them to keep providing content for its platform could keep margins under pressure, even as revenues continue to increase.

The reality will probably land somewhere in between. Roblox has the scale, engagement, and creativity to become one of the defining digital platforms of the next decade. But execution -- not ambition -- will determine whether it becomes a profitable ecosystem or remains a great idea that never pays off on the bottom line.

Lawrence Nga has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix, Nike, and Roblox. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.