The scale of this thing
I’ve already written about Roblox’s monster hits like Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot - games so big they’ve held live events with 20+ million players tuning in at once. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Taiwan - for each of those two games!
And now, Roblox’s numbers have only gone higher - even while embroiled in a major controversy.
The Schlep controversy
Here’s the messy part. A 22-year-old YouTuber named Schlep gained a massive following by exposing alleged predators on the Roblox platform. Recently, Roblox banned his account and even sent him a legal notice warning of possible action. That sparked the hashtag #FreeSchlep, which exploded across the internet. Several big Roblox creators condemned the company and pulled out of its official creator program.
Normally, this kind of drama tanks a platform’s numbers. But Roblox? It only seems to be thriving. The game just posted its highest numbers ever. Which goes to show: sometimes bad publicity is just publicity.
What this really means
Look, Steam is still where we go for prestige gaming. For Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3, and whatever indie darling is making us cry this week. Roblox is where the next generation of gamers goes to grow up online - to socialize, to experiment, to learn what games even are.
And right now, the kids are winning.
47.4 million concurrent users means Roblox isn’t just a “kids game” anymore. It’s one of the biggest platforms in the world, period. The next generation of gamers isn’t logging into Steam first. They’re logging into Roblox.
Steam may still be the home of “serious gaming,” but Roblox is shaping the future. And if history has taught us anything, the future always belongs to the next generation. And you better pay attention.
