Gamepasses may become a thing of the past as Roblox introduces new subscription feature

On Sept. 20, 2023, Roblox officially released its new subscription feature, which allows qualifying developers to implement a subscription service into their experiences that users can purchase to receive exclusive content. This feature was first mentioned at RDC 2023, and, as described by Roblox, "aims to empower creators with the flexibility to build subscription-based offerings and business models, giving them a new way to monetize on [the] platform." The addition of subscriptions will also continue to expand and develop Roblox's immense virtual economy as a whole, and was likely created to replace, or compete with, the long-standing gamepass feature, which assumably generates less income for the developers, and Roblox, when compared to subscriptions.

At the time of this article's publication, only certain creators have access to the subscription feature; those who are eligible can create their subscriptions in the Creator Hub and then implement these subscriptions into their experiences using new Roblox Studio APIs. In order to be eligible, a creator must have a verified phone number and email address connected to their Roblox account, and an experience that was created in Studio and available in Creator Hub before Sept. 1, 2023. Even with this exclusive early access, however, subscriptions will not be available to purchase by users until Nov. 2023.

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When subscriptions become purchasable, they will be listed in a user's local currency and will recharge monthly until cancelled, but will be paid to the creator in Robux. According to Roblox, this is because it "allows creators to understand overall experience monetization across different products (dev products, Passes, subs, ads rev share) more seamlessly without having to do currency conversions." Available subscriptions will appear both in-game and in the experience's out-of-game storefront, similar to gamepasses. For the time being, gamepasses remain present in Roblox's vision for its subscription feature, but they might not be around much longer.

Looking for more Roblox news/updates? Check out some of our other articles on Roblox settles $10 million lawsuit that demands refunds on deleted avatar items or Adopt Me! Happy Meal toys are coming soon, to Austria – Roblox here on Pro Game Guides.