Roblox is Already the Biggest Game In The World
If gaming was a popularity contest, Roblox would be the undefeated champion. With over 71 million daily active users in 2024, Roblox dwarfs most other platforms. For comparison, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and even the blocky titan Minecraft can’t match those numbers.
And speaking of Minecraft, you might be wondering, how much money does Minecraft make a day compared to Roblox?
Minecraft: ~22 million daily players, making around $1 million per day through sales, Realms subscriptions, and Marketplace purchases.
Roblox: ~71 million daily players, generating $65–70 million per day in gross bookings… yet still reports net losses quarter after quarter.
It’s a fascinating contrast: the smaller game (in player count) is solidly profitable, while the biggest game in the world struggles to break even. Let’s break down why Roblox is in this strange position — and what it can learn from Minecraft’s success story.
Roblox vs. Minecraft: The Money Breakdown
Minecraft, owned by Microsoft, has had over a decade to perfect its monetization. It sells millions of copies at a fixed price, offers a subscription service (Minecraft Realms), and has a thriving Marketplace for user-generated content. Once a player buys Minecraft, they don’t need to pay to keep playing — but many choose to spend on skins, texture packs, and expansions.
Roblox, on the other hand, is free-to-play. Revenue comes from Robux, its virtual currency, which players use to buy avatar cosmetics, game passes, and in-game boosts. A portion of Robux sales is paid to developers, while Roblox keeps the rest.
Here’s a snapshot:
The key difference? Minecraft operates with low overhead, while Roblox’s infrastructure, payouts, and growth spending eat away at its earnings.
Why Roblox Struggles to Make a Profit
1. Massive Creator Payouts
Roblox’s ecosystem thrives because anyone can make a game and potentially earn money. The company pays developers over $600 million annually through its DevEx program. While this fuels creativity, it also means Roblox keeps a much smaller share of every dollar earned than a traditional game publisher.
2. High Infrastructure Costs
Every Roblox game is hosted on Roblox’s servers, and millions are active at any given time. That’s a huge difference from Minecraft, where many players host private servers at their own cost. Roblox bears the full load of server maintenance, data storage, and content delivery for a global audience.
3. Heavy Investment in Safety and Moderation
Roblox’s audience skews young, so the company invests heavily in AI moderation, content filtering, and safety systems. This is essential for trust but adds significant operational expenses.
4. Aggressive R&D Spending
From virtual concerts to AI-powered development tools, Roblox is constantly experimenting. These projects might pay off later, but right now they contribute to quarterly losses.
5. Revenue Model Limitations
Roblox relies heavily on microtransactions. While this works for “whale” spenders, it leaves casual players contributing little to nothing in direct revenue.
Minecraft’s Profit Secret
Minecraft has a more traditional, stable revenue model. Here’s how it stays profitable:
One-time purchase model: Millions still buy the game each year.
Ongoing subscription revenue from Realms.
Marketplace sales with a clear revenue split.
Low hosting costs: Many players host their own servers or use third-party hosting.
Broad appeal: Played by kids, teens, adults, and even schools.
When you ask how much money does Minecraft make a day, the ~$1 million figure becomes more impressive when you realize much of it is pure profit compared to Roblox’s heavily reduced margins.
Lessons Roblox Can Learn from Minecraft
1. Diversify Monetization
Roblox could add:
Premium Subscription Tiers: Offer ad-free play, exclusive avatars, or early access to top games.
Bundled Content Packs: Parents might prefer a one-time purchase for a set of premium games or skins over continuous Robux purchases.
2. Control Infrastructure Costs
Possible steps:
Explore hybrid hosting models where certain games can be hosted externally.
Partner with third-party cloud providers for scalable pricing.
3. Expand Audience Demographics
Minecraft succeeded by appealing to all ages. Roblox is pushing into older demographics with more complex games, voice chat, and realistic avatars — but needs to market these features more aggressively.
4. Build an Education Division
Minecraft: Education Edition is a hit in classrooms worldwide. Roblox already teaches coding and design through its Studio software, but it could package these tools for schools with lesson plans and subscriptions.
What If Roblox Improved Monetization by Just $0.50 Per User?
Let’s run a simple scenario:
Roblox has 71M daily active users.
An extra $0.50 per day per user in ARPU would generate:
71,000,000 × $0.50 = $35,500,000 per day
That’s over $1 billion in additional revenue per month — enough to wipe out losses and fund growth.
The difference between Roblox and Minecraft isn’t the size of the player base — it’s the efficiency of turning that base into profit.
Challenges Roblox Faces on the Road to Profitability
Even with solutions, Roblox faces unique hurdles:
Retention vs. Monetization Balance: Too much monetization could push players away.
Global Market Differences: In lower-income regions, ARPU is far smaller.
Creator Pushback: Adjusting revenue splits could cause developer dissatisfaction.
Regulatory Pressure: Laws around children’s online spending could limit monetization strategies.
Why Profitability Matters for Roblox’s Future
While Roblox’s current losses don’t spell disaster — many tech companies operate at a loss during growth — sustained unprofitability can hurt stock performance, investor confidence, and long-term innovation.
If Roblox can follow Minecraft’s example in cost control and broadened monetization, it could turn into one of the most profitable gaming platforms ever.
Can Roblox Ever Be as Profitable as Minecraft?
Yes — but it requires a strategic pivot:
Optimize Infrastructure to cut costs.
Offer More Fixed-Price Products alongside Robux.
Expand to New Demographics beyond kids.
Invest in Education for stable revenue.
Balance Creator Payments for sustainability.
Final Thoughts
Roblox is already the biggest game in the world by daily players, but size alone doesn’t guarantee profit. Minecraft proves that with a focused, low-overhead model, a game can remain profitable for over a decade while still growing.
So next time you ask how much money does Minecraft make a day and hear “about $1 million,” remember: profitability is about more than just big revenue — it’s about spending wisely. Roblox’s future will depend not on getting more players, but on making each player more valuable without driving them away.