Roblox aims to capture 10% of the global video game market revenue, the band Heaven 17 refused to add their song to GTA VI due to an insultingly low fee, over a million mods were installed for Baldur’s Gate 3 in one day — here’s what happened in the gaming industry over the weekend.
Baldur’s Gate 3. Mod: Lightsabers — Star Wars mod
- At the end of last week, Roblox held a conference for developers. During the keynote, Roblox CEO David Baszucki announced that the platform has set a new ambitious goal — to ensure that 10% of global video game market revenue comes through the Roblox ecosystem. Roblox currently estimates the annual market revenue at $180 billion. For reference, Roblox earned $2.8 billion in 2023. This is a record amount for the platform, but it is significantly lower than what Baszucki hopes to see in the future.
- Baszucki also announced that soon developers for Roblox will be able to set prices for their games in real currency — initially for the desktop version of Roblox, followed by console and mobile versions. Roblox's commission will be 30% for games priced at $49.99, 40% for games at $29.99, and 50% for games at $9.99. For comparison, Roblox currently takes 70% of revenue from sales made in the virtual currency, Robux.
- Rockstar Games recently approached the band Heaven 17, proposing to include the song Temptation in the GTA VI soundtrack. This was shared on X by the band’s co-founder, Martyn Ware. According to the musician, he was initially excited about the letter from the studio but became disheartened after reading the contract. Rockstar Games was willing to pay only $7,500 for the song as a one-time payment, with no royalties from GTA VI sales. Ware recalled the massive earnings of previous games in the series, considered the amount offered to Heaven 17 insultingly low, and decided to reject the offer. In Ware’s opinion, reasonable terms would have been either a one-time payment of $75,000 or appropriate royalties.
- Larian Studios recently released the seventh major patch for Baldur’s Gate 3, which, among other things, added official mod support and a dedicated mod manager to the game. The new feature proved highly popular. According to Swen Vincke, head of the studio, over a million mods were installed by users within the first 24 hours after the patch’s release. However, Vincke did not specify which mods were the most popular.
- The Public Investment Fund (PIF, the Sovereign Fund of Saudi Arabia) decided to transfer all its gaming company shares to its subsidiary, Savvy Games Group. The transfer is expected to take place in 2025. As explained by the fund, it wants to go beyond mere investments and start “actively collaborating” with developers. Currently, PIF holds stakes in companies such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon, Koei Tecmo, and NCSOFT.