--- name: roblox-growth-design description: "Use for Roblox growth: diagnosing stats, discovery, retention, onboarding, experiments, LiveOps, thumbnails, and packaging." when_to_use: "Also when CCU, D1/D7, playtime or Home recommendations are low, planning an update or A/B test, reading the Creator Dashboard, and auditing why a game isn't growing." last_reviewed: 2026-10-14 sources: - https://create.roblox.com/docs/discovery - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/analytics-essentials - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/analytics/acquisition - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/analytics/retention - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/analytics/engagement - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/analytics/monetization - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/experiments - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/core-loops - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/onboarding - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/liveops-planning - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/liveops-essentials - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/content-updates - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/monetization-foundations - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/game-design/season-pass-design - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/publishing/experience-icons - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/publishing/thumbnails - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/publishing/accessibility - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/monetization/regional-pricing - https://create.roblox.com/docs/production/monetization/price-optimization - https://devforum.roblox.com/t/boost-your-discovery-by-building-games-people-want-to-play/4779042 - https://qptr.io - https://creatorexchange.io - https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html - https://copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf - original --- # Roblox Growth Design ## When to Load Load for growth, discovery, retention, onboarding, packaging, or LiveOps; route implementation to domain skills. ## Quick Reference ### Diagnose before prescribing 1. Ask for dashboard, release, acquisition, and session evidence. Never invent metrics. 2. Find the narrowest broken transition: impression→play, join→control, action→payoff, return, or purchase. 3. Write a falsifiable hypothesis: **If Y changes because evidence Z, X should move without harming G.** 4. Prefer one test with a primary metric, counter-metrics, MDE, and decision rule. 5. Stop for safety, severe regressions, or invalid instrumentation; avoid significance peeking. ### Home diagnosis - Low Play-Through Rate (PTR, was QPTR): packaging readability, promise accuracy, or audience mismatch. Also check Experience Detail Page CTR. - High First-Play Bounce Rate (negative stat): misleading package/clickbait, join failure, performance, confusing FTUE, or delayed payoff. - Low D1: core loop, onboarding, stability, goals, or first payoff. - Low D7/D30: progression, variety, social value, LiveOps, endgame, or exhaustion. - Low conversion/ARPPU: product fit, value communication, friction, catalog depth, or concentration. - Low 7-day spend days / play days per user: consumables, purchase pathways, or event cadence. These are hypotheses, not one-to-one causes. Segment and test. D1 can move without a release as acquisition mix or social density changes (§3). Per-stat tactics in full.md §3–§6. ### Algorithm hotspots (2026) In this section, (official) marks documented behavior; other ranking claims are unverified. - Cold traffic: ads are the cheapest, least-qualified players; Home algo ranks the qualified audience. Launch stats look bad on ad players. Don't panic. - Ranking: Roblox docs say benchmark games do not affect ranking (official); the similar-games benchmark is rough context only. An unverified hypothesis adds staging: genre-wide first, then against "experiences with similar players," where better-statted competitors take your players. Use the benchmark to choose comparison cohorts, not as a ranking rule. - Ads do not buy Home placement; meaningful stat-improving updates do. 28-day signals (D1, D2–7, D8–28); updates take days to show. - Beta mode hides a game from Home (official feature); tune metrics on cheap ad traffic before opening to the algo. - The 250 highly-engaged-player requirement (official): all-ages games start 16+ only until 250 highly engaged age-checked plays within 60 days. Definition (official, evolving): account tenure + playtime in your game + a purchase anywhere on Roblox in the last 60 days. 25 = publishing-fee refund threshold (separate). Ads serve 16+ automatically. Home impressions accelerate the count fastest. - Experience detail page matters: put your best thumbnails and a gameplay description there; it feeds overall play-through. - Launch realism: split ad campaigns desktop/mobile; paid playtime ≈ half of organic; low-CCU stats are noise (don't kill on a 3% D1 readout); algo "biting" shows as thumbnail impressions before CCU; console = cheap long-session niche; multiplayer needs singleplayer fallbacks; feedback forms at decision popups. ### Monetization mental model - Convert valuable one-time game passes into consumables (repeat-purchase dev products): they pump 7-day spend days per user and solve recurring pain. - Products must be must-haves that solve a pain (effort grind, losing progress AFK, FOMO, status). Limiteds with real scarcity outsell unlimited cosmetics. - Place products at points of interest with high foot traffic, and time prompts at the decision moment (e.g., 2x offline earnings at the collect point). - Give players multiple purchase pathways: HUD shop icon, "+" next to currency, and a cash-shop popup after repeated failed buys. - After shipping, check collateral damage: playtime, D1, D7, FTUE, and in-game economy. ### Guardrails Use accurate metadata. Avoid dark patterns, deceptive odds, coercive scarcity, and "whale" targeting. Treat moderation, abuse, accessibility, localization, performance, and economy health as constraints. > Full signal definitions, positioning, FTUE, packaging, social design, monetization mental model, algorithm mechanics, LiveOps, and audit workflow: [references/full.md](references/full.md)