Roblox introducing new 'publishing advance' fee as it opens up creator marketplace

Roblox Corp is letting more people sell in-game items on its Roblox creator marketplace. It's also rolling out a new 'publishing advance' fee to help it "raise the bar" on the quality of those user-made assets.

Yesterday, the company announced it's now possible for more people to publish and sell 3D avatar items on Marketplace, which it claims is visited by millions of people each day.

"Until now, the ability to create and sell 3D items on Roblox was by application only. Over the last year, we’ve seen a growing increase in interest to create and sell avatar items in Marketplace from 3D artists and developers of experiences," it wrote.

"In that time, we’ve also enhanced our policies and enforcement capabilities to ensure the community stays safe, civil, and vibrant as it grows. Allowing more people to create and sell items on Roblox will give our community more ways to express themselves and give creators more ways to earn and grow their businesses."

The change means creators who are ID-verified, have Roblox Premium 1000 or 2200, and consistently follow Roblox's Community Standards and Marketplace Policies can upload, publish, and sell their creations on Marketplace. "These eligibility requirements allow us to more effectively enforce our Marketplace policies and prevent violators from circumventing moderation," added the company.

Roblox says more creators means new marketplace fees

As more creators become eligible to use Marketplace, Roblox is introducing a new 'publishing advance' fee that it claims will ensure the storefront isn't flooded with sub-par creations. The charge is described by Roblox as a "rebatable upfront fee that you pay at the time of publishing item."

"Instead of Roblox taking the platform commission, the commission will go towards rebating the platform advance to the creator until it's fully paid back. This advance is meant to raise the bar of what is created in Marketplace and incentivize original and unique creations," explained Roblox in an extensive FAQ.

Elaborating on how, exactly, the fee works, Roblox told Game Developer the publishing advance must be paid in full when a creator publishes an item. Then, as the item sells, the advance will be rebated back to the creator. Once the advance has been repaid in full, Roblox will begin taking its usual platform fee.

The 'publishing advance' must be paid in Robux and is dependent on the type of marketplace item being sold. It provided the below graph (which you can also view on the Roblox Creator Hub) to relay how that might look in practice, and also noted the publishing advance does not apply for free Limited items which require a per-unit fee.

"Over the past year, we've seen a 3x increase in the volume of avatar items created on Roblox. When the volume of items rapidly increases, it can make it harder for creators to have their items discovered and sold in Marketplace," added Roblox, explaining why it feels the publishing advance is necessary to avoid marketplace bloat.

Roblox has also issued guidance and reminders on how it intends to make creation easier and promote a safe and vibrant storefront.

For more information on the changes, visit the Roblox developer forum.