Here’s the other even later Creator AMA summary compared to the one I just did . I did this a bit out-of-order, but here we are. It’s cool to see AMAs regarding other aspects than just engine/website related questions.
This collection of Q&A was automatically retrieved and compiled. Message me if you’ve noticed any issues.
Now here’s the summary of the last Economy Creator AMA :
Asked & Answered
Q:
This might be unrelated since it’s an API. But it has economy
inside of it.
The Creator Roadmap talked about Asset Privacy.
Are there plans, to change this API?
economy.roblox.com/v2/assets/
A:
This is a good call out. Historically, all assets were publicly accessible by default, but as this changes and asset privacy rolls out, we will keep this API in sync with the other asset APIs. We have added this to our backlog and plan to review. Thanks for the flag!
Q:
A:
We definitely hear this question often. Subscriptions within experiences is a great way to earn monthly recurring revenue by offering exclusive benefits to their user community. Paying in real-world currency versus Robux allows subscriptions to be recurring in a less frictionful manner, given that the vast majority of users are likely to have low to no Robux at one point or another, which could fall at the point at which renewals would occur.
Q:
can you give updates on the specific status of UGC emotes? they were announced at RDC 2022 with no update since then.
is it technical hurdles, moderation, policy, completely scrapped? any insights are appreciated
I created emotes after the announcement expecting them to release in a timely fashion (~1 year after RDC) and there is no signs of updates and this is frustrating to me as a creator.
I would love to see any steps in this direction to unlocking this new area of creation even in small pilot tests.
A:
This is just a matter of when, not if. We want all marketplace categories to be open to community creation. We don’t have an exact timeline for when this functionality will be available — this is mostly due to the complexity of moderating animations, which requires us to build tooling to do so at scale. We know how popular emotes and animations are within our community, and it’s in our common interest to release them in a safe and scalable way.
Q:
A:
We aim to support Creator Store commerce for as many creators as possible, but policy restrictions and limitations of our payment partners prevented us from supporting some countries at launch. We recently unlocked selling plug-ins for creators under the age of 18, and are actively exploring ways to expand monetization and purchasing options to more creators. While we don’t have any updates to share right now, we’re working hard to make this happen. Thank you for your understanding and patience!
Q:
A:
Totally agree we need this! We are actively evaluating and planning when we introduce Shoes as a UGC category, especially as we already have the category available in Marketplace. We definitely intend to enable UGC Shoes, but the timeline is currently in flux. Stay tuned for updates on this in the future.
Q:
Hi, I’m wondering if you guys have any future plans to make limited UGC items tradable;
I believe the integration of trading within the UGC marketplace will reignite an interest within players as people will have the ability to trade items that they are unable to afford and so on.
UGC limiteds have became the spotlight and the main interest of many people who in the past used to collect and trade Roblox’s classic accessories, many of which would absolutely love to trade UGC limited items just like they used to with Roblox’s classic limited items.
Currently, trading is at an all time low; and due to this, a very minute amount of the population of Roblox actually acknowledges and partakes into the activity of trading. The addition of the trading for UGC limited items removes the high bar of entry in terms of normal limited trading as the limited market has become overinflated.
A:
In the long term, we want trading to exist on the platform for all items. However, the issue with limited UGC items is that trading as it exists today does not allow creators to earn from secondary transactions. We are actively discussing and evaluating how the next generation of trades can be introduced to the Marketplace. This will require some time to get right, which is why, in the near term, we are not planning to introduce trades for UGC limiteds.
Q:
Hi Antoni and Enrico! I only have one question for you all today, and that relates to Gear items on the catalog.
Since their inception in 2009, Roblox has released over 1,900 gears to the catalog, with the most recent gear being uploaded almost five years ago. Players have purchased, traded, and sold millions of copies of Gears, and there is still demand for this feature, as seen with high demand Gears like “From the Vault” series and Periastrons for their special avatar poses and effects, selling for over 100 million robux in their lifetimes.
Gears have been subject to several bugs recently, from not showing their true appearance in 3D mode, to the grip of them being wonky (e.g. “Dual Illumina”'s left sword not welding to your left hand), and Gears overall have felt like a feature that is important to the history of Roblox that is hardly being supported today, since their main selling point was that you could use them in-game in several different environments and types of experiences, from Social hangouts, to both Fighting and Sports tournaments.
Can we expect Gears to be revamped in the near future, possibly to a brand new type of accessory that you can wear in-games? And possibly even UGC support for their own ‘props’?
Currently, UGC Creators have to create Jackets and various layered clothing items to have handheld items they can wear in-game, like swords and plushies. These don’t work in experiences that are R6-only, and just feel janky as a whole with little customization (say, switching it from your right arm to your left arm, or putting it on your back, and so on.)
I appreciate the feedback given, since the community has a lot of confusion around what’s happening to both Gears and Classic Faces, and UGC creators would love to have an official system to support the economy for props and merchandise you can take along with you!
A:
Thanks for your question and interest in Gear! I have a few of the Gears you mentioned, and agree with your assessment of the current state of Gear. It is definitely on our radar and something we have discussions on revamping, but we are currently in the process of figuring out the best way for us to overhaul them. There is a challenge for us in finding the right balance between allowing Gears and hand-held props to be brought into experiences where it makes sense, while also being cognizant to not disrupt developer-intended gameplay mechanics. While we don’t have specific updates to share now, Gear is something we recognize needs an update that we are still thinking through the best path forward on.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Ads are generally priced based on the supply of available ads to show on Roblox and the demand for those ads in the form of advertising budgets. Roblox is working on ways to make our ad systems more efficient by ensuring that we use our ad impressions to deliver the most advertiser value.
Recently, we elevated sponsored experiences to a higher placement on Home . Moving sponsored experiences up has helped creators drive more impressions and visits to their experience. From our tests, we saw that moving the location of sponsored experiences to a higher position on Home resulted in a significant increase in ad impressions, clicks, and plays per user giving advertisers more for their ad spend.
We are working on ways for ads to deliver more value such as improving targeting so that advertisers can reach the people that matter to them to make the most of the budgets they have. For example, we recently launched audience targeting for sponsored experiences so that advertisers can reach users by the genre of experiences they like to play. We recently added to Creator Analytics the ability to see average revenue per user by source including sponsored ads, this can help you better understand the impact of your sponsored ad campaigns.
Q:
Hi ! Is it planned that price of free UGC per stock limited goes back to where it was?
Its really hard for us small creators to push up our imaginations with this insanely expensive fees. What I mean is not everyone have millions robux to spend on this.
For exemple we are working on a big free ugc event for the platform which was going pretty great until we needed to lower the stock from 1000 to 100 for almost the same price, this is so unfair… Please make a change or atleast answer why was this needed at all.
A:
We understand how valuable free items are as a promotional tool, and realize this was a big change; however, an oversupply of free items over time means free items will not be as valuable to users and dilute their uniqueness, thus defeating their original purpose. This also has an impact on our economy and future earnings of the community, as users spend less Robux on your creations when they get them for free.
In the future, we want the per-unit fee for free items to be dynamic and respond to market conditions similar to our dynamic price floors. It will reflect factors like the cost to our economy and the loss in creator earnings if a user had spent Robux on an item. This means that price might go up or down depending on supply and demand of free and paid items. We expect these changes to make free UGC items more valuable to the community and optimized for the right supply/demand balance.
We are always looking for new ways to help more creators of any size to monetize — if that is their goal — and are committed to continuing to invest in this product as we believe free items are critical for a healthy Marketplace.
Q:
I still don’t understand the reason for the dynamic minimum prices, I haven’t seen anyone who enjoyed the update, because the prices tend to rise very randomly and (I believe) sometimes end up hurting the sales of UGC creators.
It takes away the creator’s freedom to choose the price they want. I’ve seen Roblox use the example that many creators constantly change prices to “follow market dynamics”, but honestly, as an active member of the community on other social media, I haven’t seen a single person who likes to keep changing the price of their items.
In short, I wanted more details on why Roblox made this decision, and where the feedback came from.
A:
Our systems constantly optimize for healthy marketplace dynamics that allow more people to create, sell, and earn. Our goal is a dynamic system that responds to market conditions to maintain marketplace health for the long-term earnings of our UGC community.
Dynamic price floors are specifically adapting to balance supply and demand. The best signal of a healthy and balanced market is creator earnings, and our price floor algorithm is designed to increase aggregate creator earnings. We have updated price floors only when there is evidence that the change achieves that goal as aggregate creator earnings have been increasing since launch.
We also give creators controls that let them set rules for how much to charge for their items relative to these dynamic prices. We’re confident this will help make sure creators can earn while giving consumers more access to items at fair market prices.
Q:
A:
Thank you for your suggestion! We know there is both creator and user demand for seeing multiple items from a creator as well as related items. We do have plans later this year to invest more in helping creators showcase their creations and more of their items, whether that is through their stores tab or within the details page as you suggested. Stay tuned!
Q:
Wih the introduction of public ugc, items using copied Roblox IP have become more rampant than ever. Roblox has reiterated many times that they will be tackling these copies (https://devforum.roblox.com/t/taking-action-on-copies-of-roblox-created-limiteds/2226390 ), however it seems that these ‘ban waves’ tackle very little items, and many copies are still able to stay up. It is extremely infuriating to see some UGC creators get away scot-free by making clones of popular Roblox items, while us creators following the rules have to put up with the inevitability of our original creations being immediately overshadowed by a reupload of an existing Roblox-created item. When will Roblox finally devote to cracking down on these items once and for all, and create a level playing field, where only original creations can thrive?
“Our guidelines and policies prohibit the copying of Roblox items”
A:
Roblox remains devoted to protecting our IP and we will continue to evaluate our practices in this regard.
Roblox takes action on content that we believe infringes on our IP while also trying to support creators’ expression of Roblox lore and culture. There are many ways to create fan content that would not be an infringement and would be allowed to remain in Marketplace. In tandem, we work to ensure a wide diversity of creations are highlighted in Marketplace, and if you find infringement of your unique creation, we encourage you to follow our DMCA process to request a takedown.
Check out our prior guidance on how to approach protecting IP:
[Update] September 1, 2023
Hi Creators,
Our economy has been driven by your creativity. We care about providing more ways for you to earn from your creativity and empowering you with the information and tools to protect it.
The issues and laws around copies and intellectual property (IP) protections are nuanced and complex which is why we wanted to share basic information here about IP and how you can protect your own IP rights and creations. In addition to this post, we also updated the In…
As we outlined in that guidance, there are many Roblox designs that are themselves inspired by normal everyday items, and we would not be able to prevent creators from designing their own version of those everyday items. For example, if you want to create a hat on Roblox inspired by a well-known style of hat, such as a top hat, you may not be able to stop other users from uploading similar hats.
Q:
Will Roblox reconsider the dynamic price floors for UGC accessories, or at the very least put a cap on the highest possible minimum price a UGC item could be?
My overall sales have been negatively affected since dynamic price floors were introduced, as regular people cannot easily afford such prices. As of writing this today, face items currently cost a minimum of 95 robux and just a few months prior, the minimum used to be just 15. That’s an increase of 80 robux. Shoulder items also used to be 15 as well, now they’re a minimum of 50 as of today.
A:
Q:
Will there ever be an official and effective method of reporting copies of Roblox-made items? Currently, there’s been an abundance of exact replicas of highly valuable Roblox items and there’s no way to report them. The only way these items get deleted is if a moderator happens to come across it, and lots of them do manage to get away.
A:
Concerned users can report duplicate content that they believe to be violating Roblox’s Community Standards using our official Report Abuse feature also accessible on each item’s Marketplace page. We have dedicated moderation staff which work 24/7 to review and take action accordingly.
If curious, we answered another question about Roblox’s stance on replicas of Roblox-made items.
Thanks for the question!
Q:
As the ability to create UGC accessories has been enabled for everyone, I must ask if there will ever be any future changes to punishing copyright theft?
As creators cannot realistically be expected to navigate the avatar marketplace page, there will be situations where their ip can be stolen, reuploaded and profited off of without said creator knowing. If this creator does find out, the punishment for a strike that goes through is only a warning on a first offense. This does not reconcile the potential weeks to months of stolen sales from said creator and unless the sales from the stolen ip is returned to the creator, it is a total loss for everyone, but the initial thief. Perhaps a much more severe punishment for discovered theft after a month or more past its initial publish date would help rectify this issue.
A:
Empowering creators to protect their creations is an important issue to us. IP owners are best positioned to tell us what they believe infringes on their rights. That’s why we recently launched Rights Manager, to help rights holders manage their intellectual property. You can use Rights Manager to report experiences, avatar items, and assets such as models, audio, and images that you believe infringe on your IP.
Roblox investigates and takes action on every valid report, which may include removing or disabling the infringing content, and in appropriate circumstances, permanently terminating the accounts of users who have repeatedly infringed on the IP of others.
To deter bad actors, we require email and ID verification for all virtual item creators. That means that once a creator is found to be a repeat infringer it will be very hard for that person to create again on the platform.
However, we are at the beginning of this journey. We are working to incorporate Marketplace search inside of Rights Manager, build detection tools that identify similar assets, and more in order to enable solutions to identify infringement of your IP at scale.
Q:
A:
Q:
Is Roblox okay with users acting as vigilante moderators, using the European illegal content reporting form to take down popular items? Large UGC creators have been affected like this, such as Reverse_Polarity and Blizzei, the latter who was actually terminated (unterminated now) over this abuse.
A:
I do not believe that abuse reports from users are considered “vigilante” behavior. Roblox provides Report Abuse buttons for all content types and we encourage users to leverage them when they find inappropriate content. Moderation teams review each report to ensure it is valid before taking action. And if the creators who get their content removed or get their account suspended feel that we made an error, they can appeal every moderation decision to get their account and content reinstated.
For context, we provide several distinct channels for users to report potentially violating content found in our Marketplace and across the platform. All reports via all channels are evaluated before action is taken. The EU Illegal Content Report Form is meant for citizens of the European Union who would like to report content that they believe violates the law of EU member states. The Report Abuse function is used to report content that the reporting user believes violates Roblox’s Community Standards. The DMCA process is for rights holders who believe their intellectual property rights have been infringed or violated on Roblox. We only process DMCA claims made by the actual rights holder. If a user is not the rights holder or authorized representative, the request will not be processed.
First, it’s important to note that sending a false DMCA take-down notice can hold severe legal penalties. Filing a false or fraudulent DMCA notification is illegal and specifically prohibited by the DMCA, and a reporter may be subject to damages and other legal liabilities. Further, illegal activity may result in suspension or permanent termination of access to Roblox services.
In addition, weaponizing our abuse reporting systems is itself a violation of our Community Standards. Fraudulent reporting, coordinated attacks against users, and creating alternate accounts to evade consequences and Roblox systems are all forms of Misusing Roblox Systems. Roblox is able to identify potentially fraudulent actors and suspend them from the platform. In the event that a Roblox user is subject to a fraudulent DMCA report, that user can also submit a counter-notice or appeal for account reinstatement.
We recognize this impacts creators. We review all reports and are monitoring this behavior closely. The volume of our Illegal Content/Abuse/DMCA reports has been stable.
Q:
Since I was asked to post my questions individually
2 Could we ever except some UGC avatar bundles to not require a modesty layer unique stuff like @ev1 ’s “Steven” bundle using it to pixelate clothing
A:
Roblox requires avatar creators to have a modesty layer because Marketplace is accessible to users of all ages, and buyers of avatars can enter experiences with any age rating. We also need to ensure consistency and fairness across all creators and designs while keeping Marketplace safe and civil for all users. This is why we have Marketplace Policies that specify when modesty layers are required, the use cases when they aren’t required, and how to implement them properly.
Q:
I would like to ask about plugin prices.
Oh yes, one of the worst updates to come out in recent years.
First of all, I would like to repeat some of the last things that I’ve said in the last post:
A TON of developers are now left out in the dark due to their country not being supported.
Even if they aren’t in those countries, the requirements to be able to become a seller are ridiculous. Sorry, I’m still not giving out my private information just to be able to sell a plugin. If I do it, I’ll do it on websites like itch.io (not…
In this post, I’ve mentioned the potential bad effects of the plugins now being sold by USD instead of Robux, I’ve read the FAQ and everything, and I would still like to ask, is Roblox sure that they couldn’t have found another solution? I think I made some good points in my post and replies talking about other potential solutions that would’ve helped to address the solutions both on the seller and the customer side.
Currently, this change creates a huge imbalance in the market by only caring about the plugin creators, and not the customers (other developers). Roblox advertises itself as a global platform where its creators can come and build regardless of their position and situations in the world, but this change only prioritizes one certain population.
A:
Our motivation for moving Creator Store to real-world currency is to maximize the revenue share for asset creators. We explored many alternate options, but real-world currency offered the best path to maximize revenue share for creators.
We are continuing to work on expanding who can buy and sell on Creator Store. For example, we recently added the ability for people 13-17 to sell on Creator Store with parental approval. As a result of this change, we’ve seen more high-quality plug-ins released on Creator Store. These plug-ins will empower Creators to be more productive and build more engaging experiences. On average, Creators who transitioned their plugins from Robux to real-world-currency pricing are enjoying 3x the take-home revenue. Even more encouraging, we have seen an increase in high-quality plugins getting added to Creator Store.
Further questions will be in the replies below…
AI Summary
- AI generated content may not be accurate.
Read the linked "Relevant Post" for accurate information.
Asset Privacy and Economy API :
Roblox is planning to keep the economy-related APIs, such as asset privacy, in sync with other APIs. The changes have been added to their backlog.
Relevant Post
Robux for In-game Subscriptions :
Roblox explains that in-game subscriptions using real-world currency are preferred over Robux due to lower friction and the likelihood of users having low Robux balances at renewal times.
Relevant Post
UGC Emotes :
UGC emotes are still planned, but the delay is due to the complexity of moderating animations at scale. Roblox aims to release them safely.
Relevant Post
Robux Plugins and Monetization :
Roblox is working to expand plugin sales to more creators and countries, but payment restrictions currently limit their availability.
Relevant Post
UGC Shoes Category :
Roblox is evaluating when to introduce shoes as a UGC category. They plan to enable UGC shoes, but the timeline is uncertain.
Relevant Post
UGC Limited Trading :
Roblox acknowledges the desire for UGC limited item trading but needs to solve creator earnings from secondary transactions before introducing it.
Relevant Post
Gears Revamp and UGC Support for Props :
Roblox is discussing how to revamp Gears and integrate them with UGC. They want to enable hand-held props in a way that doesn’t disrupt gameplay.
Relevant Post
Group Payouts Data Download :
Roblox is planning improvements to the group payout system later in the year, with a potential download feature for group payout data.
Relevant Post
Advertising and Sponsored Experiences :
Roblox is working on making ads more efficient, improving targeting, and helping creators get more value from sponsored experiences.
Relevant Post
Price of Free UGC Items :
Roblox explains that dynamic pricing for free items was introduced to balance supply and demand and maintain the value of free UGC items.
Relevant Post
Dynamic Minimum Prices :
Roblox uses dynamic price floors to balance supply and demand, ensuring healthy marketplace dynamics and increasing creator earnings.
Relevant Post
This AI summary does not include everything.
Previous AMA summaries can be found here .
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