Roblox announced at its annual Roblox Developer Conference that it is expanding its generative AI game-creation feature, Build, to Serbia and Singapore. The feature, first announced in July, lets users create games using natural language prompts and was initially available only in New Zealand.
Build is also gaining desktop access, a new asset library and iterative control. Later this year, it will get a prompt-based scene generation feature that will also extend to Roblox Studio.
The company said creators will soon be able to make their games available as separate apps on mobile, PC and consoles, with Roblox as the game engine behind them. By year-end, players will be able to join a game in-browser through a link.
Roblox is adding new capabilities to non-player characters, including ones that can playtest a game later this year. Creators will also be able to add an offline mode for weak network connections, and players will get a Friends chat tab with voice typing support.
An improved discovery algorithm will suggest shorter-format games to younger users and longer-playtime games to older users. Roblox is also debuting 2D game creation with an orthographic camera, animated image containers and direct sprite-sheet import.
The company said game makers have earned more than $5 billion on the platform since 2013, with earnings for the last 12 months reaching $1.7 billion. It is launching a Roblox Wallet, partnering with Airwallex to provide wallet services to U.S. users aged 18 and older, with plans for future global expansion. A Roblox Card is teased for next year.
Founder and CEO David Baszucki said that in the last quarter, players spent over 29 billion hours cumulatively across 180 countries.