Photo Credit: Roblox
Roblox released its fourth-quarter, year-end financial earnings for 2022, which show jumps in revenue and bookings while losses continue to deepen.
The company saw a 16% increase in revenue year-on-year, with $2.2 billion, while bookings increased 5% year-on-year, at $2.9 billion. Overall, Roblox saw a net loss of $934 million in 2022 compared to a $504 million loss the previous year.
Roblox notes that the losses for both Q4 and the full year were similar to that of 2021, attributing them to higher expenses to support the expansion of its business operations. The game company also noted it had to defer a “significant amount of revenue” to later periods, which affected the calculation of how much of its bookings could be recognized as earnings per quarter.
“Since our investment decisions are generally based on levels of bookings, we expect to continue to report net losses for the foreseeable future even as we anticipate generating net cash from operating activities,” the company adds.
After March 2023, Roblox said it would stop reporting its monthly metrics due to “month-to-month variability” that is “often more volatile than quarterly results and thus drives more short-term market reactions.”
The company reported that in 2022, its daily active users reached 56 million — an increase of 23% year-over-year. During the fourth quarter, the platform saw a 19% increase year-on-year, with 5.8 million daily active users.
“2022 was a year of innovation and invention for Roblox,” said CEO David Baszucki. “With 65 million active users in January, we are driving towards our vision to reimagine the way people come together by enabling deeper forms of expression, communication, and immersion.”
Last year, the company announced that it would begin rolling out in-game advertisements in 2023. Roblox has faced intense scrutiny from parents and educators alike due to how easily it is for kids to communicate with others using the platform. There are an average of 55.1 million daily active users on the platform as of February 2022, which is up 28% year-over-year.