Roblox Tightens Its Grip on IP With New Licensing Platform
Roblox has announced that its latest foray into the world of content is aimed squarely at other companies’ intellectual property, with the Roblox License Manager and Licenses catalog now live. Partners include Netflix, Lionsgate, Sega, and Kodansha, and the new venture already comes with licences for TV shows, games and movies, like Stranger Things, Twilight, Saw, Squid Game, Divergent, Like A Dragon, and Now You See Me.
What this means for creators is that, in theory at least, it’s now possible – and easier – to make a game in Roblox based on one of these top IPs, without a lot of the legal hassle often involved in licensing. Roblox is offering the service to all registered Roblox users and it involves a “self-serve” workflow.
“The License Manager equips rights holders with new self-serve IP management tools, making it easy to provide licenses to their IP at scale for use on Roblox by Roblox creators,” Roblox said in its official announcement. “What used to be a months-long process, often limited to a select few, now allows all eligible creators and rights holders to secure licensed use of an IP in just days or hours.”
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Red Light, Green Light
Roblox users who have always dreamed about making a child-friendly version of Squid Game, or a sparkly romantic adventure starring Bella and Edward from Twilight, have finally had their prayers answered. Users on the platform can go into the Creator Hub and select an IP from there; the process is genuinely very straightforward.
However, as expected, there are some caveats. One is that IP won’t be granted unless it’s integral to the full experience, ie. random cameos and low-effort homages won’t be allowed. Creators can apply for a license before their game is finished, however, so there shouldn’t be too long to wait and see if a big idea can be seen through.
Once the license holder views a Creator’s application, they then reject or authorize it. If it’s authorized, it’ll come with a whole bunch of relevant terms and conditions depending on the IP holder. That then just leaves the elephant in the room: the price.
Want to Play a Game?
User Generated Content (UGC) is part and parcel of the Roblox experience, with the platform well-known in game dev circles for its low entry barrier: Creators don’t pay anything until they start monetizing UGC and earning Roblux (in-game currency that can be exchanged for real money). Roblox also allows for rapid iteration across multiple other platforms, namely iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, PlayStation, and Xbox.
When it comes to the new License Manager and catalog, Creators agree to the revenue share rate for a license when they enter an agreement with an IP holder. This rate varies and it also depends on what gets sold via an experience, but an example could be that if an in-app purchase is made (like a new skin for a Stranger Things character), Netflix might take 15% of that sale, with the rest split between covering Roblox infrastructure and going into the pocket of the content creator.
Roblox has also announced that two more IPs will be available for license in the next few weeks, with plans to add a lot more (from the existing partner companies, as well as new partners).
