Roblox shares skyrocket 19%

With procedurally generated video games, there are countless possibilities in virtual reality, and while that might not apply to the real world, the future of online gaming is pretty bright. 

On Monday, Roblox, an online game platform and game creation system, saw its stock skyrocket 19%, closing at $42.61 a share. (Premarket shares were up another 2.75% as of early Tuesday morning.) The digital immersive experience platform published its September metrics report, which reported 57.8 million daily active users, up 23% year-over-year. Roblox’s business model allows users to program and play games created by other users, which resulted in an estimated revenue between $171 million and $180 million last month. 

The company saw a massive surge in users and activity during the second year of the pandemic. In March 2021, Roblox (RBLX) debuted on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing, closing at $69.50 a share, and by November, the company had almost reached its market cap of $80 billion. Despite that surge in stock value, the company reported that its estimated bookings were down by tens of millions of dollars from the previous month, along with a dip in hours engaged, a decrease that could be attributed to younger users returning to school.