ROBLOX, where creativity and coding collide: San Mateo-based video game platform launches on Xbox

Headquartered on Third Avenue, the growing company provides a platform for user-created video games where people of all skill sets can learn how to code.

“The vision of the company has always been to enable the world to play and create together and to really create a platform where kids can build anything they want,” said Rick Silvestrini, ROBLOX’s chief marketing and revenue officer. “When you introduce a kid to technology or coding, the first thing they want to do is build a game. And basically, ROBLOX enables that, which is kind of magical.”

Nearing it’s 10-year anniversary, the community-created gaming company has made vast strides this year in not only starting two new educational programs, but by launching last week on one of the world’s most prominent video game consoles.

Having provided an online platform for both video game players and developers for nearly a decade, ROBLOX amplified its audience by now being available as a free download on Xbox One. Initially starting with 20 of its most popular user-created games, next year ROBLOX will expand by giving more developers the option to push their games onto Xbox, Silvestrini said.

Similar to its computer, phone and tablet platforms, ROBLOX users can offer in-game purchases and literally turn their passion into a business.

Ultimately, that’s what attracts many kids, teens and young adults from across the globe to use the product — a chance to develop skills that can kick-start a career in the gaming industry.

Company execs are extremely passionate about teaching through doing and recently started ROBLOX University as well as an accelerator program, Silvestrini said.

The university ran as a pilot this summer through a partnership with the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club. The 10-module program includes video lecturers and assignments geared toward assisting kids through exploring 3-D modeling as well as coding. Perhaps most notable, the university program will be downloadable and, with easy-to-follow classes, it can be implemented nationwide.

Baszucki, the 52-year-old ROBLOX founder and CEO, has long had an interest in using technology as a tool to promote innovative exploration and education. Previously involved in developing software that simulated physics, Baszucki said he realized how providing an interactive world for the curious to manipulate can quickly turn play into learning.

“The reason I think ROBLOX is a great educational experience is that being motivated by your own interests and passion is when you learn the most. So people who are buildings things on ROBLOX — and it’s not just programming, it’s creating 3-D architecture, it’s creating graphics, it’s designing a game, it’s running the politics of a group, it’s trading currency — they’re all motivated by the fun and by their peers,” Baszucki said.

While users across the world can tune in remotely, the company decided to start a new internship or accelerator program that gives a handful of students the rare opportunity to break away from coding in their dorm rooms or bedrooms and learn from ROBLOX staff while staying in Silicon Valley.

Currently, the second group of eager programmers are three weeks into a 10-week program where they’re given a stipend to work out of ROBLOX’s downtown office and create their own video games, Silvestrini said.

“For me, it was a hobby that turned into something I could do professionally,” said Charlie Geigel, a 20-year-old from Orlando, Florida.

Josh Snyder, an 18-year-old Ohio native, said traveling to San Mateo and working out of the ROBLOX headquarters is remarkably different than gaming in his hometown of just 10,000 people.

“It’s been quite an experience. I never thought I’d be here. I’ve been playing ROBLOX for five years, I’ve only been developing for a year and a half, and now I’m actually at ROBLOX meeting everyone who’s on the platform,” Snyder said, adding the accelerator program, “has really pushed me to want to do more and actually seek a career in the gaming industry.”

For up-and-coming programmers like Snyder and Geigel, ROBLOX’s in-game purchases allows them to literally turn their hobbies into a job — an opportunity bolstered by its new Xbox deal, Silvestrini said

“The interesting thing here isn’t gaming. It’s high schoolers and college students and even one middle schooler, who have taught themselves how to code and now they’re taking their games to … Xbox, one of the premier consoles. It has one of the largest overall gaming audiences for anything in the world,” Silvestrini said. “It’s an opportunity to reach a whole new mainstream audience that we currently don’t have access to. So it’s great for them and it’s great for us.”

For Baszucki, watching his company develop has been a dream come true. Conveniently located in downtown San Mateo, what he calls an up-and-coming tech-savvy community, Baszucki said he’s thrilled ROBLOX is serving as a platform to support creative youth across the world.

“I think unlike most video game environments, a [user-generated content] environment is a creative environment. So that’s what’s really fun and exciting — creativity,” Baszucki said. “On the programming side, I think ultimately, all people will learn programming in a video game environment. What could be more fun?”

Visit Roblox.com for more information.

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