Roblox has announced that it will begin collecting a percentage of revenue from brand integrations negotiated directly between creators and advertisers, marking the first time the platform will take a cut of deals that previously bypassed its monetization infrastructure entirely.

The rollout proceeds in stages. On April 15, 2026, Roblox will launch beta registration and labeling tools, allowing creators to tag content as advertising. On May 4, all brand deals must be registered with Roblox prior to campaign launch and submitted for asset moderation. Reporting tools enter beta in August 2026, and the revenue share formally activates in January 2027.

Under the new framework, content is classified as an ad “if it involves compensation from a brand to feature within a creator’s experience, or if it promotes off-platform products.” Creators must submit assets for moderation before going live, and Roblox Studio will gain labeling tools to help users identify sponsored content. Rewarded formats and certain brand categories, including food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and financial services, are prohibited for users under 13, a provision Roblox frames as COPPA-compliant.

The exact revenue share percentage has not been disclosed. Roblox said it is “finalizing details with creators” and will publish specifics in Q2 2026. Payment will scale based on an experience’s user traffic and engagement rather than a flat fee, meaning high-traffic games stand to lose more in absolute terms.

A Revenue Stream Creators Previously Kept in Full

Brand deals occupied a distinct position in Roblox’s Creator Economy. While the platform’s standard structure captures approximately 70% of in-game transaction value, leaving developers with roughly $3 of every $10 a player spends, brand integrations were negotiated directly between creators and advertisers, with creators keeping 100% of those fees. A Roblox spokesperson confirmed this arrangement in a Digiday investigation in March 2025.

Campaign budgets on the platform have typically ranged from $400,000 to over $1 million per activation, according to four Roblox creators and two media buyers who spoke to Digiday. Creator studios, which function as intermediaries between brands and individual developers, have historically captured 80-90% of total campaign value before passing the remainder to the developer. 

The new policy would add Roblox as an additional layer on top of those existing fees.

Roblox paid out more than $1 billion in creator earnings through its Developer Exchange program in 2025, with $477 million in Q4 alone (up 70% year-over-year), though brand deals represent a smaller portion of total creator payouts than direct player spending.

Roblox’s Rationale and Creator Response

Roblox argues that the current flat-fee brand-deal market creates a “race to the bottom” in pricing. The company contends that without standardized measurement, creators undercharge because they lack visibility into comparable market rates, stating that “today, the flat fee deal structures leave creators earning less, not more.” 

The proposed revenue-sharing model, Roblox says, would tie fees to audience size and engagement, bringing “price transparency to the market.”

The creator community responded with swift opposition. 

KreekCraft, one of the platform’s most prominent Roblox-focused YouTubers, described the move as “the equivalent of YouTube taking a cut of creator sponsorship money” and called it “so insanely anti-creator and anti-developer it makes me question the future of the platform.” He also disclosed that the policy “will directly impact my business.”

On the Developer Forum, developers objected on several grounds: that Roblox played no role in originating or executing brand deals yet will collect a share; that creators already face an effective take rate exceeding 70% on in-game transactions; and that mandatory pre-campaign moderation adds friction to commercial workflows brands expect to move quickly. 

Roblox strategist James Purell wrote on LinkedIn that “brands have no loyalty to Roblox – they have loyalty to ROI,” and warned that increased costs and bureaucracy could redirect brand budgets to competing platforms.

Competitive and Financial Context

The announcement arrives as Epic Games’ Fortnite offers developers 100% of item-sale revenue through early 2027, before reverting to 50% on February 1, 2027, a period that DA Davidson analysts have flagged as representing “elevated competition in 2026 and 2027” for Roblox. 

Fortnite began allowing creators to sell in-game items in December 2025, directly entering a category Roblox had previously dominated.

Roblox reported Q4 2025 revenue of $1.42 billion, up 43% year-over-year, with bookings of $2.2 billion, up 63%. Net losses for Q4 reached $318 million, and full-year net losses approached $1.06 billion. The company’s stock stood at roughly $57 at the time of the announcement, down from highs above $118 in mid-2025.