The New York Stock Exchange welcomes executives and guests of Roblox in celebration of its direct listing, March 10, 2021.
NYSE
Roblox, the popular kid’s gaming platform that generates billions of dollars a year in the virtual world, is getting real.
The company said on Friday that some game developers on the platform will be able to charge users real money rather than relying on payments through Roblox’s digital currency called Robux. The change applies only to so-called Paid Access games, or those that cost money to play.
The new model, announced as part of the company’s annual developer conference in San Jose, California, takes a cue from the traditional video game industry, allowing developers to make money from selling titles, and to raise and lower prices based on market demand. Game creators can now more easily sell to users without dealing with an intermediary virtual currency.
The goal “is to increase the appeal the platform to existing developers” who want more options to create and make money from their games, said Manuel Bronstein, chief product officer of Roblox.
Payouts will be on a sliding scale, with higher-cost games resulting in a greater percentage of revenue to the creator.
For a game that costs $50, the creator will pocket 70% of the earnings. Those that cost $30 and $10 will lead to payouts of 60% and 50%, respectively. Roblox users will be able to pay with their local currencies later this year from their computers, and the company plans to expand payments to other devices in the future.
Although the majority of Roblox games will still be free to play, the company hopes that the new pricing plan “creates an incentive” for developers and small gaming studios who “want to do something more grandiose” on the platform and earn bigger payouts, said Bronstein.
“To participate in the broader gaming market, we need to branch out to all the forms of the gaming market,” Bronstein said.
Roblox derives the bulk of its revenue from sales of Robux, which people typically use to buy virtual goods. Roblox takes a 30% cut from those sales, with the developer getting the rest.
Roblox said in August that second-quarter sales jumped 31% year-over-year to $893.5 million, while its net loss narrowed to $207.2 million from $282.8 million during the previous year.
This isn’t the first time Roblox has experimented with incorporating real-world money. Earlier this year, the company debuted a revamped digital marketplace, now called the Creator Store, where developers can purchase certain features from other creators using actual currency instead of Robux. The company’s Avatar Marketplace for buying digital goods like virtual hats still relies on use of Robux.
Other ways Roblox has been trying to diversify its business are through online ads and by giving more users a bigger menu of options for creating and selling digital goods. The company said it will soon introduce tools intended to help developers better price their digital goods, and will experiment with regional pricing options.
Developers will also eventually be able to sell some physical merchandise to U.S. users over age 13 though a partnership with Shopify. The company said Friday it will begin testing the in-game shopping feature with creators, brands and other unspecified online retailers in the fourth quarter.
Shopify said it plans for a “larger launch” early next year.
Roblox shares were down close to 3% Friday afternoon to $42.56, and are now down about 7% for the year, while the Nasdaq is up 11% in 2024.
The stock has dropped close to 40% since its first day of trading in 2021, when Roblox’s business was booming as kids flocked to the app during the pandemic.
Signage at 23andMe headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is investigating 23andMe‘s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has expressed concern that its sensitive genetic data is “at risk of being compromised,” CNBC has learned.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Rep. Gary Palmer, R.-Ala., sent a letter to 23andMe’s interim CEO Joe Selsavage on Thursday requesting answers to a series of questions about its data and privacy practices by May 1.
The congressmen are the latest government officials to raise concerns about 23andMe’s commitment to data security, as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Federal Trade Commission have sent the company similar letters in recent weeks.
23andMe exploded into the mainstream with its at-home DNA testing kits that gave customers insight into their family histories and genetic profiles. The company was once valued at a peak of $6 billion, but has since struggled to generate recurring revenue and establish a lucrative research and therapeutics businesses.
After filing for bankruptcy in in Missouri federal court in March, 23andMe’s assets, including its vast genetic database, are up for sale.
“With the lack of a federal comprehensive data privacy and security law, we write to express our great concern about the safety of Americans’ most sensitive personal information,” Guthrie, Bilirakis and Palmer wrote in the letter.
23andMe did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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23andMe has been inundated with privacy concerns in recent years after hackers accessed the information of nearly 7 million customers in 2023.
DNA data is particularly sensitive because each person’s sequence is unique, meaning it can never be fully anonymized, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. If genetic data falls into the hands of bad actors, it could be used to facilitate identity theft, insurance fraud and other crimes.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has jurisdiction over issues involving data privacy. Guthrie serves as the chairman of the committee, Palmer serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Bilirakis serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.
The congressmen said that while Americans’ health information is protected under legislation like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, direct-to-consumer companies like 23andMe are typically not covered under that law. They said they feel “great concern” about the safety of the company’s customer data, especially given the uncertainty around the sale process.
23andMe has repeatedly said it will not change how it manages or protects consumer data throughout the transaction. Similarly, in a March release, the company said all potential buyers must agree to comply with its privacy policy and applicable law.
“To constitute a qualified bid, potential buyers must, among other requirements, agree to comply with 23andMe’s consumer privacy policy and all applicable laws with respect to the treatment of customer data,” 23andMe said in the release.
23andMe customers can still delete their account and accompanying data through the company’s website. But Guthrie, Bilirakis and Palmer said there are reports that some users have had trouble doing so.
“Regardless of whether the company changes ownership, we want to ensure that customer access and deletion requests are being honored by 23andMe,” the congressmen wrote.
A motorcycle is seen near a building of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on April 16, 2025.
“TSMC is not engaged in any discussion with other companies regarding any joint venture, technology licensing or technology,” CEO C.C. Wei said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, dispelling rumors about a collaboration with Intel.
Intel and TSMC were said to have been looking to form a JV as recently as this month. On April 3, The Information reported that the two firms discussed a preliminary agreement to form a tie-up to operate Intel’s chip factories with TSMC owning a 21% stake.
Intel was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC on Wei’s comments on Thursday. The company previously said it doesn’t comment on rumors, when asked by CNBC about the reported discussions.
TSMC’s denial of tie-up talks with Intel comes as President Donald Trump is pushing to address global trade imbalances and reshore manufacturing in the U.S. through tariffs. The Department of Commerce recently kicked off an investigation into semiconductor imports — a move that could result in new tariffs for the chip industry.
TSMC reported a profit beatfor the first quarter thanks to a continued surge in demand for AI chips. However, the company contends with potential headwinds from Trump’s tariffs — which target Taiwan — and stricter export controls on TSMC clients Nvidia and AMD.
A motorcycle is seen near a building of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on April 16, 2025.
Here are TSMC’s first-quarter results versus LSEG consensus estimates:
Revenue: $839.25 billion New Taiwan dollars, vs. NT$835.13 billion expected
Net income: NT$361.56 billion, vs. NT$354.14 billion
TSMC’s reported net income increased 60.3% from a year ago to NT$361.56 billion, while net revenue in the March quarter rose 41.6% from a year earlier to NT$839.25 billion.
The world’s largest contract chip manufacturer has benefited from the AI boom as it produces advanced processors for clients such American chip designer Nvidia.
However, the company faces headwinds from the trade policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has placed broad trade tariffs on Taiwan and stricter export controls on TSMC clients Nvidia and AMD.
Semiconductor export controls could also be expanded next month under the “AI diffusion rules” first proposed by the Biden administration, further restricting the sales of chipmakers that use TSMC foundries.
Taiwan currently faces a blanket 10% tariff from the Trump administration and that could rise to 32% after the President’s 90-day pause of his “reciprocal tariffs” ends unless it reaches a deal with the U.S.
As part of efforts to diversify its supply chains, TSMC has been investing billions in overseas facilities, though the lion’s share of its manufacturing remains in Taiwan.
In an apparent response to Trump’s trade policy, TSMC last month announced plans to invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S. on top of the $65 billion it has committed to three plants in the U.S.
On Monday, AMD said it would soon manufacture processor chips at one of the new Arizona-based TSMC facilities, marking the first time that its chips will be manufactured in the U.S.
The same day, Nvidia announced that it has already started production of its Blackwell chips at TSMC’s Arizona plants. It plans to produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years through partners, including TSMC.
Taiwan-listed shares of TSMC were down about 0.4%. Shares have lost about 20% so far this year.