SAN MATEO, Calif. — Roblox, a gaming platform aimed at children, is showing that the video game boom is still going strong a year into the pandemic.
When the Silicon Valley company went public Wednesday, the price of its shares surged 55% to $69.50 per share, CNN reports. That’s up from a reference price of $45 that was set on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
The surge in price sent the company’s value north of $45 billion, reportedly up from $4 billion just more than a year ago.
Roblox listed its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, meaning it didn’t issue new stock in an initial public offering. That benefited current stockholders, like CEO and co-founder David Baszucki, whose stake is now worth over $4 billion, according to CNN.
Baszucki celebrated the listing of his company Wednesday, tweeting that the company was founded in 2004 with the vision of connecting the world and he recognizes the potential to build a “platform where billions of people come together to learn, work, and play.”
The Roblox platform allows players to design their own avatars and environments, like virtual theme parks and scuba diving. It’s free to download on smartphones, tablets and consoles.
Like in other games, the company earns money through in-app purchases. Players can purchase Robux currency to buy things within the game. With about 32.6 million daily active users at the end of last year, those sales can add up.
Editor's note: The headline of this article previously said Roblox was valued at over $45 million, when it should have said $45 billion. That error has been corrected.
