To reach the hundreds of millions of users of the world’s most well-liked gaming consoles, the gaming firm Roblox (RBLX.N) aims to debut its immersive digital worlds platform on Sony’s (6758.T) PlayStation devices in October.
In addition, Roblox will launch a complete version of its software on Meta’s (META.O) Quest mixed reality headsets this month after launching a test version in July. According to a blog post by the firm, more than a million people downloaded that version in only five days.
Before the company’s annual developer conference this week, Manuel Bronstein, chief product officer at Roblox, told Reuters that the expansion is part of a strategy to make Roblox accessible “anywhere users are trying to use it,” including mobile, desktop, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices.
If we ought to be on every TV, Bronstein questioned.
One of the most well-liked gaming platforms for kids, Roblox has 66 million daily users, most of whom are teens. Tech goliaths like Meta are closely monitoring Roblox to attract the next generation of players.
Horizon, a similar “metaverse” service from Meta that allows users to assemble in virtual locations while assuming the appearance of avatars, has had difficulty gaining popularity. According to a Wall Street Journal story, it had less than 200,000 monthly users as of last year.
The sole format in which Horizon is now accessible is VR, although Meta said in February that it planned to develop versions for the web and mobile platforms soon.
A world-building chatbot powered by AI will be released before the end of the year, Roblox revealed at its conference.
According to a demo given to Reuters, developers could use the chatbot—which closely mimics a tool announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last year—to create virtual items and scenarios instantly.
Meta’s technology replaced Written communications with voice instructions, which have not been made public.
Later this year, another brand-new Roblox technology will enable audio calls between Roblox buddies represented by avatars on desktop or mobile devices.
The Connect technology records a participant’s facial expressions and physical motions via the device’s camera and then displays them as the participant’s avatar.
