Roblox Outage Benefits Among Us & Minecraft - Report
Roblox Outage Benefits Competing Gaming Platforms
Recent data from Sensor Tower, a mobile intelligence firm, indicates that the three-day Halloween weekend outage experienced by Roblox resulted in increased activity for other popular gaming applications.
Outage Details and Initial Impact
Roblox’s gaming platform became unavailable on the evening of October 28th and remained inaccessible until October 31st. This rare disruption led to gains for apps frequently used by Roblox’s younger demographic, notably Minecraft, Among Us, and potentially Twitch.
Despite users continuing attempts to access the Roblox app during the downtime, resulting in some recorded “time spent,” overall app usage decreased by 93% compared to the previous week.
Usage Increases in Alternative Games
Minecraft observed a 2% week-over-week increase in usage during the period of October 29th to 31st. Among Us experienced a more substantial surge, with a 6% rise in usage.
These increases likely stem from Roblox users seeking alternative gaming options to enjoy with friends over the weekend, as originally planned. Specifically, Among Us usage jumped 12% on October 29th compared to the day before the outage.
Minecraft also saw a 13% increase in usage during the same timeframe.
Impact on Streaming and Installs
Analysis of Twitch revealed an 8% week-over-week growth in time spent on the platform, alongside an 11% increase in average session counts.
However, Sensor Tower notes that this growth wasn’t solely attributable to the Roblox outage, as Twitch was simultaneously hosting the League of Legends semi-finals and various holiday-themed streams.
The outage also potentially influenced app install numbers.
Install and Revenue Gains for Among Us
Preliminary data indicates that Among Us installs increased by 19% on October 30th, reaching approximately 436,000 across iOS and Android. This represented a 44% week-over-week increase.
October 30th marked the highest day for Among Us installs since April 4, 2021. Revenue also saw a 1% boost, adding $12,000 – its best revenue day since July 17, 2021.
Roblox’s Explanation for the Outage
Roblox attributes the outage to a combination of factors, specifically a “subtle bug” within its backend service communications that overwhelmed a core system under heavy load.
The company refuted claims linking the outage to the Chipotle free burrito promotion, which offered $1 million in free burritos to players. While the promotion launched just before the crash, Roblox stated the disruption wasn’t caused by any “experiences or partnerships” on its platform.
Recent Platform Changes and Future Analysis
The outage occurred following Roblox’s announcement of significant platform updates, including a new voice chat system and plans to enhance player avatars with more realistic and customizable clothing options.
The company also intends to implement a system for selling digital items in-game, resembling an NFT-like structure.
Roblox has committed to publishing a detailed post-mortem analysis once the investigation into the outage is complete.
Financial Impact of the Disruption
The timing of the outage proved costly for Roblox, as it had scheduled a series of Halloween events across various games, such as Royale High, Super Golf, Ghostopia, and Spirits of Hallows Eve. Special Halloween items were also available for player avatars.
