Ability to leverage ‘Metaverse’ items (i.e., that can be equipped on platform avatars, like the ones you buy in marketplace)
So they use gears? Or am I misunderstanding?
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With programs such as this the platform can see increases of DevEx rates, due to the rapid increase of users on the platform thus higher incomes overall.
Also, businesses have a goal of spending all of the money they make so that it is not taxed away from them. So if they have an increased income they need to find ways to spend the income or it will go to waste.
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Would the Talent Hub also be illegal for children? 
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No cause that will be using in-game currency (robux).
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I haven’t question it until now. But why are you running favouritism basically if a small developers don’t succeed just chuck them away???
And the developers that roblox loves will become a
Trust rank as “member” and applications will be 99% chance on being accepted if roblox loves you as a developer. With a more high chance on actually getting your game on the front page.
I think this is wrong and I have now discovered the true side of roblox and I feel very uncomfortable even staying as a member here.
P.S what I have seen so far not relating to this but on roblox admins side I am truly upset as a bad (small developer myself since 2016 where has roblox been to endorse me?) the question is they haven’t I am actually very annoyed on this other small developers and big developer should he treated the same not by favouritism which is just wrong on so many levels.
I rarely complain about roblox but this has gone to far now on favouritism.
Not trying to drag off topic but most new members can’t even suggest stuff to roblox or even report bugs and not to mention fast track report special people who roblox endorse will be able to report normal people will have to wait 10 months for a silly game with a rude word for it to get taken down.
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I love how optimistic this is 500K?!?!?!?!? Roblox has a ton of trust on this.
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Best of luck to everyone who has applied! 
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My honest opinion is this is a terrible choice especially aiming this towards experiences. Why can’t this be shifted towards developers to instead of making games on Roblox, make new features or improve existing features on the Roblox engine? This amount of money needs to be spent towards the engine and giving it more features and stability rather than trying to compete with AAA games that don’t have a error on their own damn core scripts. You know how embarrassing that is for a multi-billion dollar company to have errors on their own core scripts?
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Ahh yes, 500k minimum is competing with AAA games.
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I cannot imagine what I would be able to do by myself with that kind of money. I guess this would mean starting by myself and then using the money to hire people?
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That’s a lot for a lego game
It should be lowered, not suitable for roblox
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Is my parental guardian able to apply for this?
I am 13 but I really wanna participate in this and if I do it through my guardian it is through an adult, and there is no real thing that says the person who applied has to do stuff in the project.
Please tell me if I am wrong, but I think I should be able to have my parental guardian apply for this.
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Roblox isn’t a lego game
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$500,000 is better than nothing. Just be thankful that they are giving something.
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Yes I would like a game fund to support me. man face
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1: How would you use 500k?
2: WHY would you use 500k?
3: You don’t need money to make a game.
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This is for games that will really push the platform, meaning the money will be used to hire developers who actually have industry experience or are really skilled.
Most professionals don’t like working for free.
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These studios don’t have to make that 500k back. Roblox is isn’t giving out a loan, it’s more like a grant. This is an investment for Roblox to increase the quality of popular games on their platform and to implement all the features they’ve been trying to push. It’s an opportunity for developers to create the best games they can without having to worry about shoving monetization down peoples throats. This will enable developers to work full time on experiences, without having to worry about whether or not they’ll get their time/money back because it’s already paid for.
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Very well said and good point. For some reason, my brain did not think of this idea as a counterargument to my statement, and so you have just done that for me. You have given a few amazing points; including that it’s more of a grant than a loan. This has allowed me to realize this; Thank you. Beforehand, I was not thinking of it specifically as a loan of sorts from Roblox, but as an “Oh hey, maybe developers would like to try to make this money back, even though it would take a very popular game and a while to do so.” However, upon reading this, thinking of it as a grant has allowed me to realize this: They are using the money given not to specifically turn a profit from their games and from monetization but to make a quality, unique game that can be enjoyed by users which may not have been seen before, while having a good budget for a game and making something new. I probably should have emphasized more on the “Not specifically a loan but more of a developers may want to make their invested money back eventually” point there in my statement. However, even then, I have also, upon reading this and thinking to myself for a while, realized that they would likely have more than enough left over to have a great budget upon finishing their game and paying their other co-developers and collaborators if they have any. This means they would not need to turn a profit from their game but would rather just need to focus on having fun, enjoying their time developing a game and making a good game themselves.
Again, great point, and thank you for the input. You have earned a like from me for sure.
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I have conflicted thoughts about the “Game Fund” in general. This post is drowned in other replies, but I’d like to point out a few things and ask why this exists.
This may get high earning developers locked into the platform under contract.
Funding like this will need oversight and legal agreements. Most of the assets I have hired people to create for my game will work in other engines; As a skilled worker and business owner it’s in my best interest to diversify revenue and income opportunities if Roblox’s future becomes more uncertain. If a bulk of funding is released to developers through a separate program like this instead of DevEx, these developers may be prevented from using earnings to fund other projects. Roblox still needs to stay competitive so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many big game publishers and platforms do things like this.
This may give false hope to developers.
Thousands of developers, big and small, are getting excited about funding they will likely never receive. They may feel as though they just need to work harder to prove themselves and be graciously gifted funding. Most applications will be ignored, which is completely fine for something like this. This is hope for success is true of content creation and game development in general, so this criticism is depends a lot on the selection process, how many projects are picked, and what kind of advantage they have. The 18+ age requirement is a safe move though, as profiting off of work done by minors is a dangerous business model.
Roblox can more easily fund specific projects that will improve the Roblox brand.
Perhaps leadership just wants to see better quality content and original IP on the platform. Most young developers just cash out for themselves without putting money back in to nurture and grow a long term business; Those who try run out of funding quickly (I experienced this and had to fire talented people to keep the project alive and have enough income to support my family.) Perhaps simply increasing DevEx rates would just further reward short-lived low quality experiences that are designed to most-efficiently extract money from young kids. Roblox needs meaningful experiences with ethical monetization strategies to compete with other top brands and to adapt to future regulations prompted by consumer dissatisfaction.
This may be achievable by controlling discoverability instead of funding specific projects. It’s hard to say though.
What is the reasoning behind the Game Fund, and why is it needed in addition to DevEx?
It probably makes sense for practical reasons, but the original post doesn’t explain why the Game Fund program exists in the first place. It sounds like an exciting idea, but has other implications. The reasoning just seems a bit mysterious to some of us considering DevEx already exists.
At its core, the game fund itself is funded by Roblox’s cut of content creator revenue, as well as money from investors. Roblox exists to serve consumers (users and casual developers/creators), to serve workers (serious developers/creators and employees), and to serve investors (people with money who want the platform grow and profit.) Like any huge platform, there are casual creators, creators going through hardship, creators experiencing mild success, and a tiny fraction of creators driving most of the revenue. There are creators misleading and taking advantage of consumers through unethical practices (like gambling mechanics and unlicensed IP), and creators trying their hardest to compete with that while providing users with meaningful experiences. Roblox will fall under legal criticism if too many young players/creators experience hardship. It is absolutely critical that popular experiences are ethical for young consumers, and that skilled creators can achieve financial stability.
Is the Game Fund fair?
The game fund has the potential to help with some of these points, but there is undeniably some unfairness to it. With just DevEx it’s a relatively fair market, where some experiences Roblox wants to support are featured in the sort. Game Fund experiences will compete with regular ones and have a serious advantage. Should we blindly grab for funding hoping our project is good enough, or would it be disingenuous to accept funding and get an unfair advantage over others?
My perspective
My project “Shard Seekers” has custom characters and playable animals, so I am unable to “reflect elements of the user’s platform avatar identity” or “leverage ‘Metaverse’ items”. Many users want to have a unique identity within an experience, because it adds aesthetic consistency and safety to the worlds we create. Players have spent millions (in USD) on my experience over the past 5 years; I have worked insane hours for years trying to grow this business so it can support my family and talented workers long term. I struggle to deliver content at a reasonable price because I only seen a fraction of the revenue. I’ve been okay with this knowing there’s a great team working to create the platform that helps me succeed, however, if some ideas won’t be “prioritized”, with Roblox’s cut of my revenue going to specific games, should I pivot my business to a different platform or tech field?
I’m just a passionate engineer/leader trying use my skillset to create something positive for people and generate a stable long-term income for my family. I interned at Roblox in 2015 and loved it; The environment and people were great. Roblox’s future feels more uncertain after having gone public, and as a developer it’s not easy to compete with unethical games that profit off of unlicensed IP, incentivize likes, and utilize gambling mechanics like lootboxes. I’m both hopeful and skeptical about this program.
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If Roblox’s playerbase motivates you to choose to build on Roblox, then you should want a stronger playerbase on Roblox (ie want Roblox to win against its competition—including other up-and-coming metaverse networks, not just pure engines). The priorities of this game fund are things that strengthen the Roblox metaverse. And I think the requirements will also strengthen the metaverse because they are heuristics for high quality content.
It is your choice whether you want to make a game satisfying the priorities and requirements (unless you are under 18[1]). And surely another devexing developer would prefer your game to also satisfy the priorities and requirements of this program. So if you wish, you can take a chance on applying to this game fund, just like how you already take a chance to make a “successful” game. Maybe because resources are limited, and there is a certain quality floor necessary to compete, Roblox has determined that this game fund is a good idea. So if you only plan on leaving this platform in under, say, 5 years, then probably this game fund is not beneficial to you, but otherwise I think it is.
[1] This limitation is unfortunate and probably outside Roblox’s control as you said, and messes with the purity of the argument but I think this argument still holds.
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