Sunsetting User Ads and improvements to Sponsored Experiences

This is something that should be done BEFORE you push the damn update :roll_eyes:

8 Likes

but why? why would you even sunset them? nobody really complains about them, and they cause no issues. this is simply just making it even harder for smaller (and younger!) developers to succeed.
nobody here thinks this is a good idea. isnā€™t your whole brand about how anyone can create stuff? and now you limit advertising capabilities for people under 18?
please, reconsider this. this isnā€™t going to help your platform in anyway, shape, or form.

5 Likes

Originally made a statement that I was reminded about today on the previous post, saying that I am excited to see what the future brings.

I am no longer excited for anything, as I can very clearly see that absolutely zero ā€œfutureā€ exists. You have had since October 2023 to ā€œresearch new advertising methodsā€ and yet your only response is a tip on how to make my thumbnail look more ā€œoptimizedā€.

This is a load of you-know-what. I am astounded at the fact that I am actually able to, whole-heartedly say that this is the first and only time that developers have been COMPLETELY DISREGARDED on a platform that is promoting development daily.

Zero thought towards small developers, which the old ad system included. Zero thought towards indie studios, which the old system included. ZERO thought towards ANY developer on this platform with BILLIONS of users and TENS OF MILLIONS of DEVELOPERS registered.

I donā€™t know what investors you are trying to please, but this is 100% the wrong direction for this platform. The entire idea of which the site was based on, the idea of Roblox, the reason for it all ā€œPowering Imaginationā€ has been flushed down the drain alongside any hope of affordable development on a large platform with it.

I sincerely hope that your stupid analytics system, algorithms, and marketing team realize how damaging this is when you see new games donā€™t receive players, and small developers leave. We make up more of the platform than you can see, but go ahead and screw us over.

23 Likes

This isnt the roblox i know. Youre killing the only game platform i truly enjoyed. And youre running away with the money. And theres nothing we can do

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disgusting update

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Thereā€™s a lot to unpack, as there is with half of all updates now, but for the moment . .

Iā€™ll say you definitely had all the time you needed to explore before making this decision. I donā€™t know any reason why this had to be rushed out; even if the intended date for removing User Ads was ā€œQ1 2024ā€, do you still have to do this?

If anyone can fill me in, why do User Ads need to go in the first place?

7 Likes

because roblox wants investors to think they are ā€œnext genā€, meaning they get rid of ā€œbasicā€ features (like user ads) and replacing them with, and i say this with very heavy quotes, ā€œadvancedā€ features

long story short, because they want investors to think its a good idea to pour money into roblox

4 Likes

I have a suggestion when user ads get replaced.
What if every category on the home page got extended and everywhere else where ads are put based on the users window or display resolution size. That way, the area is not blank and more games could potentially get discovered.



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This can just show how the corporation doesnā€™t care. I agree to @Trl0_P90ā€™s post, could have easily been thought of atleast before the update goes live.

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Notice how 0 people are defending you. Even when people look at the positives, they have many other negatives to contradict them with.

This ruins most small developers chances on creating a game with over 20 concurrent players. The only other viable advertising method that is okay is YouTube, which is not as good as User Advertisements. Additionally, you, as a company, should make the experience the best possible for your users and give them opportunities to grow their own games through your platform. We should not have to compromise our advertising methods because of your poor choice.

Please do not migrate advertisements to this platform unless it is a bug-free, good experience which supports big developers and small developers alike. The old User Advertisement system allowed for fun, creative advertising where developers could create eye-catching images that would bring users to their game. I am worried that this new system will not allow for that any longer.

(I do like the way Sponsored Experiences are currently being shown as they help small and big creators bring more attention to their game. I firmly believe that if you continue down this path you will have a much happier community [and make more profit].)

While your shareholders might be pleased, losing 1000s (generous estimate) of potential big developers due to your poor choices is not worth it. Also, profits from developers are real and do influence your income as a company. Donā€™t throw a lot of them away because people who donā€™t truly understand how this platform works want something. Also, shareholders do whats best for them. Their main concern is money, while your concern should be about retaining users and growing as a company, of which this new system will not do well.

The ROBLOX platform will grow whether you pour tons of money into it or not. ROBLOX is built off of its players and developers. Please do not disregard us and our opinions for short-term monetary gain.

TLDR: Please do not change the system of User Advertisement (at least not in this way). Donā€™t give into your corporate greed.

Also, look at this.

This is peak ROBLOX.

The yapping is crazy :speaking_head::fire:

17 Likes

Mr Gman is wearing a cone despite having OBC so the hats dont matter in this scenario

Not like anyone clicked them anyway. But all this does is make it EVEN harder to grow your game. Younger audiences are assumed to click these than older audiences because of the design. Itā€™s locked in for many people to simply ignore ads.

Instead of sunsetting things and giving us Ikea, when will you help users grow their games and creations? That was your true initiative and all weā€™ve really seen is the sunset of features, cosmetic changes and sponsored events,

5 Likes

This is both cool and bad because many users now canā€™t create ads on Roblox. However, I believe they will take action and allow ineligible users to post ads.

Oh boy. Even though Iā€™ve just recently learned about this, Iā€™ve been reading through these posts for a while now, and Iā€™m kind of disappointed.

Please read the rant for more details on how I feel about and summarize this, or see the tl;dr at the end of it if you want to.
I donā€™t expect everybody to read it, but it would be nice if you did. After all, it did take a few hours to write.

The rant about this situation (warning, very long):

Iā€™m sorry if I get any details wrong throughout this rant. This is the way I see the situation both personally and as a whole after considering a lot of community feedback on this update.

I like to make my games solo (indie development is a great learning experience for me) most of the time, and Iā€™ve finally decided to try and really get my name out there with a great game people can enjoy.

For context, Iā€™m a small game developer deciding to truly learn the system beyond just building and programming for the first time, and my original idea to advertise the completed product was to use User Ads to promote its arrival. Unfortunately, that might not be the case anymore with this. I expect the game to take a while to create, and I am undeniably certain I wonā€™t be able to meet the deadline of July 17th.

This is a huge disappointment to me, as this will pressure me into a relatively complicated and expensive system just to get a few views.

Though even then, I can kind of see the middle of this:

  • The new system helps create a more standardized and according to the documentation, safer method of advertising.
  • Most user ads have become much more bland now and some developers have been expecting a better system to roll out.
  • In fact, User Ads have gotten so bland that no audience really cares about them much anymore. Though they are nice to have around.

But of course, thatā€™s not without its issues:

  • The new system has had problems for a while now and seems relatively difficult to use.
  • Too much complexity. Some things just donā€™t make sense. Why do I even need ad credits? Why not just flat out Robux?
  • Why canā€™t we advertise groups and paid-access experiences? They shouldā€™ve either 1. done something about it or 2. told us why by now.
  • This shuts out thousands of small game developers like myself. We will get trampled by the competition.

I understand why this stuff is being rolled out, donā€™t get me wrong. There are a lot of positive benefits regarding profit, and how Roblox wants to transition to something much bigger. That and their investors are probably loving these changes as well. But the real issue is that it hurts thousands of small, aspiring developers like myself who really want to become rising stars in the industry or just simply get themself out there in some way, shape, or form.
Iā€™ve seen people bring up that Roblox is supposed to be centered around children and their creativity, and not large corporations. That was true; though unfortunately, it doesnā€™t really seem to be much of the case anymore. I meanā€”what is IKEA even doing on here anyways?

Roblox says they listen to the communityā€”that is sometimes true, look at what happened to the update with audio changes, but in reality some of these choices they as a corporation make only divide and anger us more. And this is no exception.

I have great dreams and hopes for the future, even in Roblox, despite the situation at this point in time. But this isnā€™t the way. Probably one of the biggest examples of ignorance from the corporation comes from this, based on whatā€™s been said about it. We got change with our feedback to the audio change, why canā€™t we get change with this? Is the money really worth choosing over your player-base? Weā€™re literally getting an incomplete and untuned system. We should be at the center of your thought process; weā€™re what built you up in the first place, and what you dedicated yourself toward.

And Iā€™m not saying this shouldnā€™t be done. But Iā€™m not for it either. I personally loved the old User Ads, and a funny ad every few days was great back in 2016-2017 (this isnā€™t my first account). But I can also understand why theyā€™re doing it. Iā€™m just saying it should be done both differently AND better, in a way that helps everyone. Heck, to appeal to those who want to keep the charm of classic ads, you could still keep User Ads, but renovate it in some way! Just a thought.

But, these changes wonā€™t stop me; Iā€™ll still find a way to get out there. Even if the road gets rough.
Though even then, Iā€™ll still have some questions for when my game does launch and I have to deal with the new system:

  • What if this advertisement system doesnā€™t work the way I want it to? Will my hard work and funds go toward nothing? Will i just be brutally trampled by those larger than me? And will the issues in said system even be fixed by then?
  • Why do I need another account, and why are other large developers complaining about how the system is complicated and works improperly? This seems really complex and concerning for such a very simple concept.

TL;DR & Conclusion:
Based on what Iā€™ve both seen and felt, this feels like greed at its worst. And Iā€™ve read many replies on both sides of the argument with deep thought to their meaning and what they bring up. So from a small but prepared game developer, who may not be even considered at all despite this veeery long and heartfelt essay, please listen to us with all of your heart. I know you still have some. Even if not much.
And I know I didnā€™t have to write all of thisā€”but really it feels necessary.

Nobody is just begging for nothing. This situation is probably one of the most serious threats to small game developers like myself, as it puts our most basic ability to advertise our game sufficiently at risk.

12 Likes

this also means you wont be able to advertise for like 100 robux since thereā€™s like a min 2800 robux conversion, i donā€™t get how this was even considered in the first place

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Because it is currently run on a Cost Per Play basis.

So, I guess this means that you could charge 100 Robux to play your game, but only bid the equivalent of 20 Robux per play on your advertising campaign, meaning you have found an infinite Robux glitch!

3 Likes

Well that just activated an interesting memory for meā€¦ on account of these user ads being affected by adblocker extensions, I havenā€™t actually seen any in much longer than this sunsetting.

2 Likes

Brehhhh horrible update. Why is roblox goin down the Absolute Toilet?

DAVE YOU SHOULD JUST SPIN THE WHEEL OF FAMOUS ROBLOX USERS AND WHOEVER WINS BECOMES CEOā€¦

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Still not sure why people see this as a negative. 9 times out of 10 the ad you will see contributes nothing and helps no one.

Also, not sure if this is related but the entire homepage has been shifted to the left and it could be because of ads:

1 Like

A long and well thought out reply. Iā€™m in the same boat. I like to solo develop, and without User Ads creating the first few users is going to be next to impossible. Sponsored Ads simply do not do that.

1 Like