A student from Birmingham has become a successful game developer on the popular platform Roblox, with his app attracting over 1.6 billion visits. Muneeb’s “Catalog Avatar Creator experience” is an online shop within the game, where players can purchase clothing and accessories for their in-game avatars with real money. Muneeb, who is studying computer science at the University of Birmingham, built the app as a side project in 2021. It has since grown in popularity and has won the Fashion category at the Roblox Innovation Awards, beating out big brands like Gucci and Karlie Kloss.
While Roblox is free to play, in-game purchases generate revenue for the platform, with daily player counts estimated at over 70 million. This has also resulted in criticism for Roblox, with concerns about children racking up huge online spends. The platform says it is implementing safeguards to prevent this from happening but still wants to promote online shops.
Creators like Muneeb benefit from charging for in-game items and can take a cut if their apps are popular. In fact, according to James, Roblox internal communications director, creators like Muneeb have been paid more than $2bn since 2018. Some people have complained in the past about being paid with in-game currency instead of cash, saying it encourages people to keep money on the platform.
Despite this, big brands are now contacting Muneeb, hoping to collaborate with him on his online fashion experience. Muneeb’s dream brand to work with is Nike. He is excited about the new opportunity that may arise from this interest and hopes to pursue game development full-time after completing his studies
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