Roblox: All Hail the Metaverse

It wasn't the one we expected, but its the one we got. Here's why.

Why the Metaverse Already Here - and it’s Roblox.

Three years ago, Mark Zuckerberg stunned the world with an audacious proclamation: Facebook would transform into Meta, dedicating itself to building the Metaverse. A universe where people would work, play, shop, and create in an immersive, persistent digital space—that was his vision. The world quickly became acquainted with the term, though the concept still hasn’t sunk in with the general public. Three years on, pundits still wonder: what happened?

“In the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine,” Zuckerberg declared, brimming with confidence.

Zuckerberg held high hopes for spatial computing and virtual worlds but reality, as it so often does, had other plans. Meta poured billions into its Metaverse vision, only to meet waves of criticism and investor skepticism. The ambitious gamble cost the company dearly—not just financially, but in credibility. The high-profile departure of John Carmack, a legendary gaming innovator and Oculus’ former CTO, symbolized the growing discord within Meta. In a scathing resignation letter, Carmack wrote:

“I think our organization is operating at half the effectiveness that would make me happy. We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort. There is no way to sugarcoat this.”

Who needs fantasy if it looks like this? Despite the success of Meta’s impressive VR hardware, Meta’s Horizon Worlds has failed to convey, or capture, the public imagination.

The press pounced. What had once been a highly profitable social media empire was now an embattled tech giant, fumbling toward a seemingly distant dream.

Enter ChatGPT: A New Challenger

Just as Meta’s vision was faltering, another revolution emerged to steal the spotlight. In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, and the world gasped at the implications of generative AI. Its transformative potential dwarfed that of the Metaverse in the eyes of many corporate leaders. ChatGPT promised efficiency, cost-cutting, and immediate results—a boon in a post-pandemic economy desperate for tangible gains. Meanwhile, the Metaverse was increasingly dismissed as an impractical pipe dream.

Headlines like these buried the Metaverse’s ambitions to drive the 3D internet as companies and consumers became enraptured by the potential of AGI.

For an industry that had begun to find its footing, this was a brutal blow. The Metaverse had been poised for its moment in the sun, but suddenly, winter set in. Projects stalled, funding evaporated, and optimism turned to disillusionment. Even with the launch of Meta’s Quest 3 headset and Apple’s much-anticipated Vision Pro, the Metaverse’s prospects dimmed. The Vision Pro, priced at $3,000, faced slow adoption. Developers balked at building for a fragmented, niche audience, and rumors swirled that Apple might not release a second version until 2027.

By late 2024, hardware shipments had fallen far below expectations. It was no longer a question of when the Metaverse would arrive, but if it ever would.

Are we there yet?

And yet, the Metaverse may already be here—just not in the form we expected. While big tech struggled to manufacture a seamless, immersive experience, platforms like Roblox thrived by doing the opposite: embracing simplicity and user-driven creativity.

Roblox doesn’t call itself the Metaverse, but it might be the closest thing we have to one. The numbers are staggering: over 90 million daily active users, a thriving ecosystem of user-generated content, and breakout games like Dress to Impress that engage over 1 billion users. The platform has also forged significant partnerships, including one with Shopify to monetize virtual goods and another with global ad giant WPP to integrate branded experiences.

Dress to Impress has delivered the tipping point for Roblox; gaining older players, a huge persistent player base, purchases, and a thriving creator economy.

Unlike Meta’s Horizon Worlds or Apple’s Vision Pro, Roblox succeeded because it didn’t aim to dictate the user experience. Instead, it handed the tools to its users and let them create the Metaverse themselves. Its success challenges the notion that technological sophistication is the key to adoption. Sometimes, simplicity and accessibility win the day.

Culture and Technology: the Symbiosis

This story isn’t just about platforms or hardware; it’s about people. The history of technology repeatedly shows us that success isn’t determined by engineering prowess alone but by how well a product aligns with human behavior and cultural shifts.

Technology succeeds when it empowers people to create, connect, and participate on their terms; not the other way around.

Here’s the thing: technology succeeds when it empowers people to create, connect, and participate on their terms. The Metaverse’s potential doesn’t lie in headsets or high-fidelity graphics but in its ability to foster meaningful communities. Platforms thrive when they hand over control to their users, encouraging organic growth and creativity rather than imposing top-down visions.

Twitter thrived because "Black Twitter" turned it into a dynamic space for cultural conversations. Instagram became indispensable because influencers used it to craft lifestyles and aspirations that drew massive audiences. Roblox’s trajectory follows the same pattern. By tapping into users’ creativity and social needs, it built an ecosystem that feels alive and meaningful—qualities the Metaverse was always meant to have.

The takeaway? The Metaverse isn’t a question of hardware or corporate strategy; it’s about fostering communities and giving them the tools to build. Success comes from listening to people and adapting technology to fit their needs, not the other way around.

The Roblox Revolution

Roblox encapsulates the core ideals of the Metaverse: persistence, social interaction, and an internal economy. It’s a space where creators can build their own communities and virtual worlds, complete with a common currency and seamless interoperability. With Shopify integration in 2025, the platform promises to be more powerful than ever. And while only a fraction of users access Roblox via VR headsets, its 3D nature fosters a sense of immersion and is playable on mobile, PC, as well as VR. Win-win-win.

Consider the game “Dress to Impress”. Currently the world’s most popular game with 3.4 billion total visits, Dress to Impress enjoys undeniable success. First released only Roblox in October 2023, it was one of the fastest Roblox experiences to reach one billion visits. By mid-2024, the game had become a viral phenomenon online even with non-Roblox players. Even more impressive? Its founder, Gigi, is only 17 years old. Her second in command is age 14.

Mark Zuckerberg once said, “The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence.” Roblox achieves this. It’s not the immersive VR utopia envisioned by tech companies, but it’s an inhabited, evolving digital world where users feel connected—a space defined not by technology but by human interaction.

TLDR; The CMO Takeaway

The Metaverse’s future may depend less on cutting-edge hardware and more on redefining what it means to be "present" in a digital world.

The question isn’t whether the Metaverse is here but whether we’re actually looking in the right places. Roblox may not be the Metaverse we imagined, but it’s the Metaverse we have.

Roblox may not be the Metaverse we imagined, but it’s the Metaverse we have. And in the end, it’s not the vision of technology that matters most; it’s how people use it to transform their lives.

As Zuckerberg himself put it, “Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this.” Perhaps we’re already there.